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What a crazy mix! We recently put on a Desert Code Camp Jr event as part of Gangplank Jr. The morning started off by letting kids create their own programs using the Scratch programming environment from MIT. Then we had a multi-bracket Bakugan tournament with some seriously cool Bakugan prizes for the top three ranked players. During the tournament kids and adults snarfed on Pizza and got a mental break.
After lunch the kids got to make pipe cleaner bugs. Then the group (over 30 kids) split into two groups. One group went to a lecture by @DocProfSky, one of their peers, who taught them about Arduino and basic electronic principles. The other group split off to program Lego NXT Mindstorm robots. After an hour the groups switched places. The event ended up being better than expected and we look forward to more in the near future.
We have been doing some LEGO NXT MindStorm events as part of Gangplank JR. Last month we had the First LEGO League team from Mesa Academy in to present in preparation for their run at Regionals. They ended up winning Regionals and going on to State. This solidified for us that we definitely need to be putting together a formal First LEGO League team. We would like to assemble teams for Ages 6 – 9, Ages 9 – 14, Ages 14 – 18. If you are interested in getting involved please let us know.
Last month we talked about “Gangplank looking to move downtown“. We have been actively pursuing a move since June 2009. We knew that we wanted to be more involved in the creating of a new economy.
To accomplish this we need to be in a city that wants and values the same things we do. We have been really happy with Chandler and over the last three months have really started to get involved with their downtown. It became clear very quickly that they embody the same spirit as Gangplank when it comes to their civic planning and downtown. The business owners, landlords, developers, council and staff all are rowing in the same direction and striving to be the leader in technology of the Phoenix-Tucson mega region over the next 20 years. They have shown they want to be the place “Where the creative class grows up”.
They had four initiatives in place that we felt were necessary to pass before we could consider them as a viable option. These initiatives were important for a number of reasons. First and foremost their adoption meant they were serious about becoming a creative class city and committed to technology. Secondly, it would prove that they had the ability to work together to make an impact in their city.
Last week was the approval of #1 and in good faith was enough to solidify for us that the City of Chandler has the right mix and a commitment to the creative class. We have engaged with land developers Desert Viking and Peter Sciacca on developing a 15,000sqft facility in the historic Thomas Building in downtown. We will have more information as the negotiations progress and as things get underway. We are excited to become immersed in the community and really get involved on a much deeper level. Things are already underway that are making a major impact for both Chandler and Gangplank including new developments with Gangplank Junior.
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