1st October 2020

The CoderDojo Boo Challenge is back!

CoderDojo volunteers and clubs all around the world have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. When considering whether, and how, to run a fun coding challenge for Ninjas this October, we wanted to make sure that we heard from the CoderDojo community. We reached out to a number of community members, and thanks to their feedback, the CoderDojo Boo Challenge is back!

Ways to get involved

Of course, things are very different this year, with many clubs running their sessions online, sending activities remotely, or paused for now. If you’re wondering whether the Ninjas at your club can still take part, the answer is yes, absolutely — regardless of what stage you and your club are at, young Dojo members can take part. You may like to host a special online session to get your Ninjas creating something spooky, or simply send this blog to parents so that young people can get started on their ideas at home. And if your club has been paused, this is a great opportunity to reach out with this challenge and check in to see how they are getting on. There are lots of ways to get involved.

What is the CoderDojo Boo Challenge?

Young people from Dojos worldwide, as well as those new to CoderDojo, are invited to create a project related to Halloween or the month of October. They can work on a project individually or in a team of up to five young people. Their project could include bats, pumpkins, autumn leaves, Halloween costumes, sweet treats like candy, spooky jump scares, or anything else eerie or magical!

Their entry will be reviewed to recognise:

  • The creativity or originality of the project idea
  • The use of code and its complexity
  • How well they present or describe the project in the submission
  • How well the project fits into the theme

Young people get to create a project using whatever coding language they want, such as Scratch, Python, HTML/CSS, App Inventor, or Blender! All of them are at their disposal to design the best project they can think of. Projects don’t need to be 100% finished in the submission.

How do young people take part?

Read the full guidelines here. Projects need to be submitted as a link; this can be the  Scratch project link (make sure it is public) or a Trinket link. Alternatively, Ninjas can present and record their project, upload the video to YouTube, and submit the YouTube video link. 

The submission deadline is Monday 2 November. Please note: projects do not need to be finished in order to be submitted. The project submission form needs to be filled in by an adult on behalf of the young person or group, and links need to be publicly viewable (you can double-check using private browsing mode) for us to be able to assess the submission.

Submit your project now!

We’re very excited to see what your Ninjas create and we’ve got some awesome prizes to give out. Each participant will receive a certificate to celebrate their participation. Share how your Ninjas’ projects are coming along using #DojoBooChallenge, and help to spread the excitement!

Get inspired!

Need some inspiration? Check out these projects:

Scratch

HTML/CSS

Hardware and electronics

Images to promote the CoderDojo Boo Challenge

 

We have designed a spooky range of images to help you promote and share about the CoderDojo Boo Challenge. You may like to use these images in your Dojo’s social media posts, in your newsletters, or in communications with your Dojo members.

 

Explore the options for resuming your CoderDojo sessions on our new web page: Ways to run your Dojo.

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