STEM & DESIGN SUNDAY | Grades 2+ | FREE

Here is the lineup of topics for our FREE STEM & Design workshops on May 7. Space is limited for each topic and Registration is required! Please note time and location for each topic.

For Unity or Scratch workshops, please bring the following information – either the login information for an existing account OR an email address that can be used to create an account.

Unity Game Engine: Beginner & Intermediate , grades 7-12, limit 4. 2:00-3:30 pm, The Maxx – 94 Railroad Street.

Scratch Coding: Beginner & Intermediate , grades 2-8, limit 6. 2:00-3:30 pm, The Maxx – 94 Railroad Street.

Advanced Game Design with Scratch , grades 6-12, limit 6. 3:30-4:30 pm, The Maxx – 94 Railroad Street. Prior experience with Scratch required.

If you register for this event but find you are unable to attend, PLEASE contact us asap so that we can offer your spot to someone else. Thank you!

 

REGISTER NOW

Date

May 07 2023
Expired!

Time

2:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Location

The Maxx
94 Railroad St, New Milford, CT 06776

We are here to help your kids discover their talents and start applying STEM principles and problem solving in everyday life. This is your chance to help us raise another generation of independent thinkers. DONATE TODAY to help us maintain our classes, provide necessary training to our young mentors, and ensure access to all. Together we help keep this community educated and help our children build a better future for everyone.

 

Game Development with Unity

 

Grades 7-12 or by permission. Summer camps, 1 to 2 hour, multi-day classes, and 1-day workshops. Inquire about online options.

This topic provides a good introduction to Unity and its use for game development and the application of the programming language C# to a specific project. New students will learn fundamentals of the software platform tools and libraries and each build their own level of one group game. Experienced students will work on their own complete game. Students will download the Unity development software to take part in this class.

 

This class will not teach coding fundamentals (see “Requirements” below).

 

The benefit of Unity: Unity is a development platform for creating graphics and animation in 2D, 3D, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). It has very wide use in industry for creating video games, films and animation for many applications. Because working in Unity involves the use of code libraries written in the language C#, it also provides a great learning path to higher levels of coding in general. Unity has a very large user base and is well supported with tutorials and forums that provide great sources of information and help.

 

Requirements:

 

- A personal interest in game design and learning about an industrial-strength game development platform.

- The class is focused on learning to use the software platform Unity and applying C# to the subject of game development. The class does not have time to teach coding fundamentals. Therefore a high comfort level with at least one programming language is necessary to be allowed to join the class. C# is ideal, Java and any other C-based language are the next most relevant languages.  Strong ability in Python or Java Script is also acceptable.

 

Optional but highly recommended:

 

- Installation of the free Unity development software on a laptop or desktop computer from your home. Our staff can help with installation during the classes.

- Creation of a personal Unity account to allow projects and learning to continue at home. The accounts are free and we will provide guidance on the account setup.

- Creation of a GitHub account to allow collaboration with other students and our instructors, and access to code from many other designers. The accounts are free and we will provide guidance on the account setup.

 

Learn more about Unity

Programming in Scratch: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced

 

Grades 3-9. 1-day workshops, or 1 to 2 hour sessions in multi-day classes and week long summer camps. In-person or Online.

Our "Programming in Scratch" topic serves students who want to begin learning to code and also those wanting to learn fundamentals of game development and animation for games.

 

Beginners (Level 1): No keyboard skills necessary! Scratch is a “drag and drop” programming language developed at MIT. It is free and easy to use with no risk to a home computer as it is done completely online. Scratch is excellent for learning all of the fundamental concepts of programming in any language and suitable for very young as well as older students. Scratch can be used to create very complex programs for games and simulations in many subjects like physics, math, computers, and engineering. Students will learn how to begin and save projects, and create simple programs and games like Maze and Pong. Students will learn how to find interesting projects online, see the actual code, and use and change the code to create their own games or animations.

 

Intermediate and advanced (Level 2): Either as separate workshops or following a beginner-level workshop in Scratch, instructors will share their latest projects and examples from others that use high-level tools and skills. Students may also share their projects and get help as needed as they learn more skills and fundamentals of coding while creating more difficult games and animations. Advanced techniques include gravity, momentum and switches, and custom special effect engines. Advanced coding skills and concepts to be learned include lists, variables, operators, procedures, conditionals, and loops, and learning to debug problems in code.

 

Students must create a Scratch account at home before the class or provide an email address that can be used to create an account during the first class.

 

Learn more about Scratch