An Hour of Code with Penguins

As we mentioned last post, March of the Fossil Penguins will be covering some exciting new research over the next three years. I’m very fortunate to be involved in a new project working with Dr. Tracy Heath and Dr. Rob Meredith. One of the main goals of the grant is to develop more sophisticated computer models to reconstruct evolutionary trees that include both living and fossil species. We chose penguins as one of our “test cases”, because they have a rich fossil record with lots of specimens and well-constrained geological dates.

Kate Dzikiewicz explains how code can be used to create an electronic penguin adventure to a school group.

We are excited about sharing our results with the public, and helping build computer literacy is one of our major outreach goals. As part of the project, the Bruce Museum’s amazing Paul Griswold Howes Fellow, Kate Dzikiewicz, has been hitting the road to bring an Hour of Code to hundreds of students.  Computer coding is one of the most widely useful skills students can learn, as basic coding abilities can be used in careers ranging from the biological sciences to graphic design. Hour of Code is a global initiative that aims to bring an hour of computer coding lessons to as many students as possible, and we are putting our own spin on it, with a little help from a new virtual friend named Kari the Kairuku penguin.

Kate created Kari to make coding more fun. She is based on an ancient penguin who lived in New Zealand  27 million years ago, and reached a height about a foot and a half taller than an Emperor Penguin. Kids learn techniques for guiding Kari’s movements, looping actions, adding animations and more. Then, they can turn their imaginations loose and code up their own adventure for Kari.

Check out the story of Kari here: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/130254722/