This summer we’re hearing from our amazing camp staff. Our Hope College students do the heavy lifting of planning, prepping, and teaching our hands-on camps all summer long! Each week, 2-3 student staff members will recap a camp they’ve led and share tips on how to keep the fun going at home!
Hi everyone, my name is Rylee Snellenberger and I am a sophomore studying biomechanical engineering. I was able to lead the Applied Python camp for Week 5 of camp! I was super excited to see what these kids would create, and I am happy to say they did not disappoint! The main point of Applied Python was to learn how to control different circuits with code, mainly Scratch and Python, by connecting their circuits to their Raspberry Pi. A Raspberry Pi is a brand of computer geared for hobbyists, researchers and education.
This camp was very personal – there were only four campers! Yet, they were able to create some pretty cool circuits. One camper made a quick reaction game with two buttons and an LED. Another was able to create a controller for a robot arm! My favorite part of Applied Python was seeing the campers work together to create some pretty sweet circuits and code. It was amazing to see campers want to try each other’s creations.
If you would like to start coding yourself all you need is a computer or laptop! To learn how to code, the Raspberry Pi website has some Python coding tutorials that will guide you through creating your own code using the Python application. After going through a tutorial feel free to customize it to you! Create questions that your friends have to answer about you!