Not sure what to do with your son or daughter during “Take Your Child to Work Day”? TechGirlz, a renowned Philadelphia-based nonprofit, has the answer for you! Why not provide your child or a visiting group of kids with a fun, free, technology activity?

TechGirlz is developing a series of lesson plans to further the technology skills of young people. This is important—by 2020, there will be over a million jobs in tech! TechGirlz is focused on reducing the gender gap in tech careers by offering workshops and summer camps to middle school aged girls. All young people can benefit from the lesson plan ideas, which will expose them to technology concepts that are typically not taught in the classroom.

What can my kids learn?

The technology workshops include a lot of fun and interesting topics. Kids can learn how to:

• Create a podcast: in one of our most popular workshops, students will learn how to create an (audio) podcast. (Novice workshop)
• Create a website using HTML and CSS: in this popular workshop, students will learn the elements of HTML and CSS and use them to edit a webpage template to create their own website. (Intermediate workshop)
• Design with Scratch: using Scratch, students will experiment with the basics of programming. (Intermediate workshop)
• Program with Python: using Python, students will learn the basics of programming including: simple data types, comparisons, if-statements, and loops. (Intermediate workshop)
• Design Mobile Apps: using MIT App Developer, students will work in teams to design a mobile app. They will select an app idea, develop a prototype, and present their final product. (Intermediate workshop)
• Gaming with Unity 3D: using Unity 3D, students will learn about the history of video games and build their own game. (Expert workshop)
• Learn the basics of Ruby on Rails: Students will learn the basics of Ruby on Rails web development and create their own app. (Expert workshop)

TechGirlz has also offered other workshops using : Mindstorms, LittleBits, MakeyMakey kits, and Raspberry Pi. These workshops require that you purchase or have access to these materials.

What if I’m not a tech expert?

That’s OK. Perhaps you can prepare to lead a novice-level workshop such as “Create a Podcast”. Or partner with your IT department.

How do I get started?

• Visit techgirlz.org and view our selection of TechShopz – pick your topic
• Find a presenter(s) who is available on April 24th
• Secure a location and time. Workshops are generally 2.5-3 hours.
• Have your employees sign up their children for the sessions. Even though these TechShopz are designed to engage girls, the material is not gender specific. We do encourage an age minimum of 11 and up.