Code Ninjas Celebrates Computer Science Education Week with Annual Holiday Hackathon, Hour of Code™ Events

Local Kids Coding Franchise Encourages STEM Education with Events, Charitable Giving This Holiday Season

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Dec 07, 2020, 10:05 ET

PEARLAND, Texas, Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Code Ninjas, a franchise of coding for kids, is celebrating Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek), a national annual initiative to inspire kids to take interest in computer science. Throughout the week, Code Ninjas locations in the US, Canada and the UK will host Hour of Code sessions leading up to a final Holiday Hackathon contest, where kids can explore coding and win prizes for their creativity, and parents have a chance to give back to their own communities.

Code Ninjas locations will host both safe in-person and virtual Hour of Code activities from December 7-13 where kids can try out coding in fun new ways. To round out CSEdWeek, Code Ninjas will also host free in-person and virtual Holiday Hackathon events December 12-13 where kids can participate in a friendly competition to build video games for a chance to win cool prizes, using their programming language of choice from either ScratchJr, MakeCode Arcade Blocks, or MakeCode Arcade JavaScript. Winners will be selected by Code Senseis™ (instructors) at the end of the event and rewarded with fun prizes. The top game will also be submitted to Code Ninjas Home Office to compete at the international level (US/CAN/UK) for a chance to win even more prizes in partnership with Robolink and Sphero.

This year, Code Ninjas will introduce several new Hour of Code activities to cover all skill ranges in coding. Sessions available include Origami Algorithms, Binary Coding, ScratchJr, MakeCode Arcade Blocks, Micro:Bit Emoji Story, Roblox, MakeCode Arcade JavaScript, and 3D Modeling. Many of the individual Code Ninjas locations are encouraging families to give back to their community in the spirit of the holidays by donating toys, canned goods or other items needed at specific charities in their communities in exchange for participation in Computer Science Education Week events.

"At Code Ninjas, we are committed to advancing kids' STEM education in a fun way – through building video games," said Justin Nihiser, CEO of Code Ninjas. "With 2020 being a difficult year for kids to try new and exciting things, we are thrilled to provide safe opportunities for kids to explore the world of computer programming and give back to our local community through this year's annual Hour of Code events and/or Holiday Hackathon."

All events are free and open to the public. Participants taking part in Hour of Code and/or the Holiday Hackathon do not need any prior coding experience. Participants must sign up to participate here: https://www.codeninjas.com/CSEdWeek

About Code Ninjas

Founded in 2016, Code Ninjas^® is the world's largest and fastest-growing coding franchise, with hundreds of locations across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. At Code Ninjas, kids learn to code while building their own video games. They gain problem solving, critical thinking, and STEM skills in a fun, safe, and inspiring environment. Kids have fun, parents see results^®. For more information, visit codeninjas.com.

SOURCE Code Ninjas