We have been hard at work the past few months collaborating with the wonderful people at the Brooklyn Public Library and their Incubator program. Zero Day has had the pleasure of collaborating with the Flatbush and East Flatbush branches and their amazing teen librarians to explore and develop a plan for encouraging their patrons to go beyond consuming tech and making their own!
We are pleased to announce that our proposal, DEV LIT 🔥, was accepted with funding to support physical computing education through gaming. The branches will run workshops building arcade cabinets running Makecode Arcade games developed by the patrons themselves. Our teens will develop both hardware and software skills as they construct cardboard cabinets, connect hardware components, and then build their own games to share with the community. The completed cabinets will be available for general gameplay within the branches.
As an extension, our teens will begin exploring adaptive gaming and 3D design as they develop alternative access methods to the cabinet. Drawing from existing open assistive technology designs, teens will adapt and further develop their own hardware to support access to gaming needs in their communities.
For teens unable to attend the arcade cabinet workshops, the libraries will also curate and loan out Microbit kits for independent exploration.
The Microbit is a pocket-sized computer designed to introduce teens to coding and electronics. It has an LED display, buttons, sensors, and connectivity options, making it a versatile tool for learning. Teens can use the Microbit to create various projects, such as games, music players, and temperature sensors, fostering hands-on experience in physical computing. By programming the Microbit using visual blocks or popular coding languages like JavaScript or Python, teens develop digital literacy and gain a deeper understanding of how software and hardware interact. The accessibility and interactivity of the Microbit make it an ideal platform for engaging teens in technology and nurturing their creativity.
We are excited to continue our partnership with BPL and the branches. Let the games begin!