Cape Town - The City’s libraries are getting in on the coding action once again, and will host in-house coding sessions on Mandela Day, July 18.
Those with the highest scores will go through to the national competition in October and then the World Tournament in December.
Last year, 26 teams participated and this year this number is set to increase.
Some libraries have only one team and have therefore joined forces or partnered with their local schools, forming more than 30 teams for the upcoming tournament.
The winners of the library-level competition sessions will be entered into a database with their scores and times, and the top three teams from each area (north, south, east and west) will then move on to the final round.
The finals will be hosted on July 31 or August 1, and the 12 teams will go head-to-head to determine the top three City teams.
It is these three teams who will be in the running to represent Cape Town in the national and World Tournament competitions.
Last year, the final tournament drew participants from Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Germany and the US, and the three participating City libraries placed in the top 10.
Coding is an engagement project of the Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department and the Leva Foundation.
Tangible Africa is responsible for creating coding applications, TANKS and RANGERS, which allow participants to play off-line, using minimal resources.
Mayco member for community services and health Patricia van der Ross said: “There is no doubt children learn through play, and coding is a fun way to improve on logic and problem-solving skills.
“Since coding was introduced to our libraries two years ago it has grown in leaps and bounds.
“Coding also enhances creativity and because they have to come up with solutions, they can’t procrastinate. I want to encourage our young patrons to sign up and get involved at their library. It’s a few hours of social and recreational interaction,” said Van der Ross.
Unplugged coding allows libraries to bring coding to communities who do not have access to expensive resources.
By downloading a very small app (7MB), participants can play TANKS or RANGERS off-line, using the app and the tokens from the game packs.
The first round of coding mini-competitions will take place at the following libraries on Mandela Day:
Adriaanse, Athlone Library, Belhar, Bellville, Bishop Lavis, Bonteheuwel, Bothasig, Brackenfell, Crossroads, Delft, Durbanville, Edgemead, Elsies River, Goodwood, Hanover Park, Harare, Huguenot Square, Kensington, Kloof Street, Kraaifontein, Kulani, Lansdowne, Leonsdale, Lotus River, Moses Mabhida, Mowbray, Observatory, Ocean View, Parow, PD Paulse, Pinelands, Plumstead, Retreat, Rocklands, Southfield, Town Centre, Valhalla Park, and Vredehoek.
The top winners of each area will be invited to play to determine the winner of the City of Cape Town libraries in August.
To find out more about coding, visit your library or contact [email protected].