We were glad to welcome Gary and The Code Show to St Michael's on Thursday 13th June where pupils from Years 5 to 8 got to experience the history of computing!
Following an introduction to computing invention and advances from the early 70s to the late 90s from Gary, the pupils were introduced to some of the World’s most enduring games, from Space Invaders to Donkey Kong to Mario and Sonic. They heard about the teenagers who had coded these games from scratch in the 80s and paved the way for the consoles of today.
There was even a table of ‘artefacts’ for the children to explore including the fabled ‘cassette tapes’ and a ‘Walkman’ (cue much confusion from the Spotify generation)!
The highlight of the workshop was the children's freedom to play on every single machine and try out the games or have a go at coding in Basic for themselves. The Code Show allowed them to explore the devices much more than is allowed in a museum. They were even allowed to 'drive' the first ever electric car, the Sinclair C5 from 1985.
We extend our thanks to Gary for giving the children such a memorable and exciting day.