Computers + Kids Summer Camp

23 Railroad Place
Pennington, NJ 08534
Computers + Kids web site

Eva Kaplan, Camp Director

Terrapin Logo, Bee-Bots, Pro-Bots, and Roamer turtles

Computers + Kids, a summer day camp for students from 7 to 15 years old, celebrated its 27th year of operation in 2010, making it one of the oldest technology camps in the United States. Campers at Computers + Kids are exposed to and experiment with a broad range of technology from programming to robotics. The hands-on activities build confidence, encourage learning, and are lots of fun!

From the beginning, programming with Logo has been one of the most popular activities at Computers + Kids. Students love creating Logo projects, which start with turtle graphics and quickly become more elaborate as campers share insights and techniques. Logo programming encourages both individual achievement and group cooperation and the experience helps solidify understanding of math and geometry concepts. According to camp director Eva Kaplan, "The kids love programming in Logo and it's the best way to teach the law of 360 degrees and geometry."

Turtle robots have also had a long-term presence at Computers + Kids. Turtle robots provide a concrete complement to programming the Logo screen turtle and students quickly see the connection. The camp started with Roamers and now uses Bee-Bots and Pro-Bots. After mastering control of the robots, campers create routes and mazes for them to follow. It quickly becomes a team sport with one group programming their Pro-Bot to successfully traverse the path another group has created. The games motivated by the robots help develop estimation, planning, and sequencing skills while encouraging cooperation and team-building.

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