Inventors University

04/10/2022

It's time for Inventors University Class 5, our free tech school for 4th & 5th grade girls and nonbinary kids.

Last year, we used Zoom, which was great (we got to expand beyond California and reached five different states!) and not as great (we missed the in-person interactions). So we're open to both in-person and Zoom.

* We're considering the week-long session like 2021, but also one-day workshops. If either are interesting, sign up and let us know your preferences.
* Last year, we expanded to HTML/CSS/Javascript. This year, we're even considering Blockchain and NFTs (every student gets their own NFT!).
* Once again, we are targeting those who just completed 4th or 5th grade, though we are willing to make exceptions.

While we're still sorting out the details, our first step is to start identifying students that are interested. If you know a 4th/5th grader or a parent with a child that is interested, please share this post and ask them to fill out the form.

To learn more, visit us at https://www.inventorsu.com/ NOTE: This school is for girls/nonbinary kids who just completed 4th or 5th grade only. If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected]

07/07/2021

It's been over two years, but Inventors University is indeed back. A new set of really bright girls from all over (including Toronto, NY, NJ, and even Houston via Saudi Arabia!), 2+ hours a day, five days this week, and an extended final project that will likely go beyond the end of the week. It's not the same vibe as when we would go to the Concord Library, but Iris & Robyn are back to teaching code and, as their father, I am in heaven watching it--not to mention seeing this next wave of potential future engineers...

05/08/2021

We're back. Did you miss us?

We know everyone is tired of Zoom, but coding can still be fun and so is Inventors University. We had big plans for 2020, but cut them short due to Covid-19. But after a one year hiatus, we are ready to bring IU back. However, since the world is a different place and because we still want to respect the protocols, we will do things a little different than past years:

* We're doing it over the summer where the Zoom fatigue will be lighter.
* We're doing each session daily, one week at a time, as opposed to weekly stretched out over months. And for kids that want multiple sessions, we're alternating weeks to minimize Zoom fatigue.
* We're looking to expand our curriculum options based on demand (HTML & Javascript!).
* Because we are virtual, there are no limits to where the students are. So it doesn't make a difference which school you attend or even whether you are in California. We just want girls who are excited to learn about programming. And we are targeting those who just completed 4th or 5th grade, though we are willing to make exceptions.

While we're still sorting out the details, our first step is to start identifying students that are interested. If you know a 4th/5th grader or her parent that is interested, please share this post and ask them to fill out the form. We’re hoping to make this the biggest year ever for Inventors University.

To learn more, visit us at https://www.inventorsu.com/ NOTE: This school is for girls who just completed 4th or 5th grade only. If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected]

04/21/2019

Year 3, Class 8 at Concord Library, which also doubled as Inventors University Year 3 Graduation Day! 👩‍🎓

Students finished off their Design Projects for the first two hours, before we let the parents join us for "Demo Day" as well as the graduation ceremonies. We normally hold our graduation at the Sun Terrace Open House, but one of our IU faculty members had a conflict with a clarinet recital (hard to coordinate with a 5th grade schedule), so we decided to double up graduation with our final class.

This year, we lost a couple of students along the way as they were unable to fulfill their commitments, which is an amazing reminder of the amazing dedication that all of the seven graduates (and their families) made to show up every Saturday through flu season, spring breaks, and fun events that fill that lives of elementary school girls.

As with every graduation, it's so fun to watch the girls’ pride in showing off their projects to their families. And most of them forgot that they get to keep their Raspberry Pi computers after graduation--which made for an even more exciting final day. Meanwhile, we bought everyone Raspberry treats and Robyn made a special 3D-printed container with an Inventors University inscription for each of the students. As a family, we look forward to getting back some lazy Saturday mornings, but we'll miss the joy of watching these girls evolve in not only their skills, but their confidence.

And stay tuned for our redesigned website, coming soon!

04/13/2019

👩‍🎓 👩‍🎓 👩‍🎓 Graduation Day. Pictures coming soon! 👩‍🎓 👩‍🎓 👩‍🎓

04/08/2019

Year 3, Class 7 at Concord Library.

With our final class next week, it was time to start design projects. This is where the students get to select their own project. Unfortunately, the students have been hit by the flu bug over the last couple of weeks, so we've been missing a few of the girls each of the last two sessions. Still, the girls who attend are incredibly excited about what they get to work on now.

But before we started, Robyn awarded the prize to last week's design challenge for the best house. Her reward was...a printed version of the house. It's special when your award is your own design.

The Python class gave the option to build a multilingual dictionary or a draw command to select different scenes. The girls had a fun time creating unique scenes, including one girl's quest to draw a heart--which takes more math than you might think.

The 3D Modeling project focused famous buildings. Robyn provided a list for everything from the Pyramids to the Taj Mahal and let the girls decide which one to create as a 3D printed object. I was partial to the girl who chose the Arc De Triomphe in France.

With our last class and graduation next week, every year seems to go faster than the one before it. Stay tuned for pictures of our students' final projects and our graduation ceremonies next weekend!

03/31/2019

Year 3, Class 6 at Concord Library.

After a long layoff (three weeks) due to the district STEM Fair and the Country Spelling Bee, we were finally back in action. After a quick refresher to get everyone back up to speed, we were off and running.

Today’s Python class went to the next level with the Turtle graphics package, where the girls starting messing around with unique color patterns. The girls went from being programmers to being artists by playing around with parameter values. And even though Iris was teaching the material for the third time, she still managed to learn a new trick and then got excited to share it with the class.

Meanwhile, the 3D Modeling class focused on houses. Robyn issued a Design Challenge on creating either a house or a room of a house. She then started by showing us her model of her own house, which helped trigger some really creative ideas. Our TA Braelynn even started coming up with ideas.

As we go into the last month of the year, the girls will be preparing for their final projects before a late-April graduation. Can't wait to see what they come up with.

03/17/2019

No class this week as the district held its annual STEM Fair and one of our instructors was featured for her Science Fair project where she created a system to convert dog activity into energy. Not only did students show up for the STEM Fair, but some even wore their Inventors University shirts.

03/13/2019

Year 3, Class 5 at Concord Library. Unfortunately, I had to travel for this one, but heard we had some pretty impressive creativity.

Today’s Python class covered the Turtle graphics package, which let's the girls drawing capabilities come to life. They were able to make basic shapes and start expanding into more complex images. This usually leads to their final project as everybody loves drawing pictures with Python.

Meanwhile, the 3D Modeling class focused on animals. The girls made everything from a giraffe to a pig, but surprisingly no turtles. That would have made for the best crossover between classes ever.

And with each new design, the girls are rewarded with a "printout" the next week--which gives them yet another reason to get excited for Saturday mornings.

03/03/2019

Year 3, Class 4 at Concord Library. We created a new setup of the classroom with the projector screen as a class divider to make it feel like two rooms.

Today’s Python class covered arrays and dictionaries, while 3D Modeling started the design challenge where the girls were asked to come up with a 3D design of food.

The Python class became an impromptu Spanish lesson as the girls created the Spanish-to-English dictionary. Meanwhile, the girls designed 3D models of Donuts, Pop Tarts, Sushi, Cake, and Burger & Fries. Yum! It was so much fun to see all the smiling faces from the girls as they were coming up with their own ideas in both classes.

02/24/2019

Year 3, Class 3 at Concord Library. For possibly the first time in IU history, the girls got all the pre-class riddles. This is definitely a talented and super-motivated bunch.

Today’s Python class covered operators and conditionals so that the girls could build a simple calculator, while 3D Modeling allowed the girls to create their first personal designs--including an angel that would look really good on a Christmas tree (picture below). We brought in full laptops to get TinkerCAD working properly, so the girls didn't use their Raspberry P*s for 3D Modeling, but no one appeared to mind. In fact, the girls were so engaged across all classes that they seemed disappointed to see their parents waiting to take them home. We probably could've gone another hour without anyone noticing. It'll be even more fun when they get the 3D printed item next week, like an Inventors University Christmas!

02/17/2019

Year 3, Class 2 at Concord Library. As always, we started off with riddles and then launched into our first class of the year where the students actually got to code. With full attendance today, we had our largest class ever with nine girls, eight of whom are either Latina or African-American.

Today’s Python class covered strings and variables and inputs (including MadLibs) while 3D Printing brought an introduction to TickerCAD. We had some technical difficulties with the Raspberry P*s running the software, so Robyn switched into whiteboard mode. The girls have been incredibly patient with our usual growing pains of a new class and we're excited to see what they'll make before the semester is over.