You may have already found that the T (for technology) in STEM education is a big focus in schools, including coding or computer science. There are a wealth of resources available to help kids and teens learn to code or support developing coding skills.
Coding or, as it is sometimes called, computer programming, is communicating with computers by creating a set of instructions for the computer to follow.
If you are learning to code at school, want a new creative hobby, or just want to understand how the technology around you works - you should consider learning to code! Learning to code opens new digital creativity opportunities for art, music, and more!
Check our online calendar or our blog post Upcoming Programs for Kids often for more from the Learning Curve each month to discover programs that support STEAM. Many programs are designed to help lay the foundations of logic and computational thinking to prepare kids to tackle coding. Also see our blog post for kids Coding with Scratch.
Online Kids Coding Club
Schedule & Registration
Kids ages 8 and older and teens can join the Learning Curve online to learn about the Scratch programming language and work on a coding project. The emphasis will be working on different long-term Scratch projects, whether by oneself or with a partner, and socializing with other attendees!
Coder Dojo of Indiana
Coder Dojo of Indiana offers free, volunteer-led, community-based computer programming clubs for young people. Check our their website to find dojos near you:
Girls Who Code
Girls Who Code offers girls in 3rd-5th and 6th-12th grade an opportunity to explore coding in a friendly environment. Join a local club or dive into Code at Home activities.
Choose one of these booklists form IndyPL staff to help you find more books and resources to build your coding skills!
Are the kids in your life eager to make their own video games and animations? Scratch, a free, web-based, drag-n-drop coding environment, makes it easy for kids to code. The books in this list can help spark imagination and build coding skills.
This colorful illustrated guidebook offers clear instructions to get kids up and running quickly building games like Scuba Adventure, Dino Hunt, Space Jumper, and more.
The Everything Kids' Scratch Coding Book provides a thorough tour of the Scratch programming environment. Each chapter explores a different part of Scratch and wraps up with a fun activity, so you can dive in and enjoy what you're learning.
Make your Own Scratch Games! includes Leaf Me Alone!: Scratch Basics, Weird Bug Chowdown: Collecting Items and Avoiding Obstacles, Hatlight: A Cave Exploring Platform Game, along with chapters about designing levels, creating sound effects and where to go from here. This useful guide doesn't just tell you how to build games, it helps you understand what you're designing and how to organize your code. Also available as an eBook on Axis 360.