Summer: Introduction To Computer Programming

Department: Technology
Open to: 7th-8th grades
Period: 1, 2, or 3
Length: 5 weeks
Tuition: $540

Students are introduced to programming fundamentals as they build a total of four arcade-inspired games from start to finish. The Adventure Game features a knight who has to defeat enemies to reach treasure. Students program arrow keys, fluid motion, hero and enemy behavior, and winning conditions. In Dragon Attack, they define multiple levels and lives, and program a boss enemy, while learning about variables and cloning. In Gravity Sling, a game inspired by Angry Birds™, students will be introduced to the physics library as they define the behaviors of different kinds of projectiles and use physics commands such as impulse, gravity, and collisions to build the game. The final game, Ninja Runner, is an advanced physics platformer game with a boss fight sequence that challenges them to apply all the concepts and skills they have learned.