This summer, Four Athens will maintain the momentum of its expanding youth programs, now active in ten local after school code clubs, by hosting two “camp” experiences for local elementary kids and teenagers. A week-long MineCraft Modding & Art Camp in June will engage 2nd through 5th graders in code instruction as well as daily hands-on MineCraft inspired art projects. At the Teen Tech Experience in July, area high-schoolers will learn to build a functional web app using the popular Ruby programming language over two weeks, plus visit downtown startup companies and UGA departments for innovative workshops focused on job preparation in the technology fields.

“"We are excited to offer these two camps for the first time,” explains Four Athens Education Director, Terrell Austin. “Our MineCraft Modding class has been very popular this year, but the addition of the analog art element is new. And with the two-week long Teen Tech Experience, students will not only learn Ruby programming and web design principles, they will also get to see how those skills are put to use in the real world by local tech entrepreneurs and business innovators making their ideas a reality.”

This year, Four Athens also launched an initiative to raise funds aimed at increasing access to tech education opportunities specifically for middle school aged students. Recent research into STEM education programs reveals a particular vulnerability during the middle school ages for students to lose interest in science and technology topics. This is especially true for girls. The current fundraising campaign has the ambitious goal of raising enough scholarships so that no child interested in learning to code will have to be turned down for lack of resources.