WITH the help of characters like Ben 10, Jake and Finn from Adventure Time, The Powerpuff Girls and the adorable We Bare Bears, leading kids brand Cartoon Network hopes to interest more students to learn the basics of coding.
In an event on July 29, Turner launched Code the Future with Cartoon Network at the San Juan branch of their partner facility, SparkleLAB Philippines. Around 15 young students aged 8 to 10 participated in the demonstration of five activities that sought to teach kids the basics of coding in a fun and interactive way.
Through these activities that feature some of Cartoon Network’s most-loved cartoon characters, the students get familiarized with concepts like the Cartesian plane, conditional statements and simple character animation—all key concepts in coding.
With a target to reach more than 7,000 kids in Metro Manila, Turner Country Lead in the Philippines Nicole Schneiderjohn explained the need to empower the youth through hands-on workshops that promote imagination, experimentation and collaboration, as well as creative and critical thinking.
“Integrating Cartoon Network’s well-known characters with coding concepts is a great way to engage kids beyond traditional entertainment and provide an introduction to this valuable life skill. We’re making coding fun, and we’re excited to collaborate with partners like SparkleLAB to bring these ideas to life,” Schneiderjohn said.
SparkleLAB Philippines is happy to be collaborating in a project that aligns with their goals as “a research and development space where the learning of individuals and communities is reimagined”.
“Through this collaboration, we wish to spark an interest in coding among kids—encouraging young people to become producers and not just consumers of media. We are happy to partner with Cartoon Network, an organization that shares our passion for creating experiences that delight, captivate the imagination, spur creativity and make learning extraordinary,” said Rosanna Lopez, founder of SparkleLAB.
SparkleLAB regularly offers hands-on workshops for kids, teens and adults. The topics usually tackled in these workshops are: media production, game design and development, toy making to soft circuits, e-textiles and physical computing. Turner Asia Pacific is the creator and distributor of award-winning brands throughout the region, running 61 channels in 42 countries, including CNN International, Boomerang and Warner TV. Turner Asia Pacific is a Time Warner company.