Tomorrow, May 16, there will be dozens of gatherings around the world devoted to “Scratch,” a programming language sponsored by the MIT Media Lab which is designed to help young people learn the basics of computation. This is not your father’s LOGO; built in Smalltalk, Scratch allows users to create elaborate graphic and sonic environments with interaction and messaging between numerous visual objects. An unbelievably enthusiastic community of “scratchers” has uploaded hundreds of thousands of creative and brilliant Scratch projects to the main website.
Here in the DC-metro area, there will be two Scratch community events: one at the Arlington Career Center and one at Takoma Park Middle School.
At the event at the Arlington Career Center, Todd Fine of HacDC will be briefly presenting on how one, using Python and the Scratch Networking Sockets, can link the Scratch environment to microcontrollers, the Internet, and other software. As an example, we will control our Scratch games using a Nintendo Wii Nunchuck.
When: Saturday, May 16th, 2009, 10 am to 1 pm
Where: 816 South Walter Reed Drive
Arlington, VA 22204