Australia creates new world record for most kids coding at one time
On Wednesday, 9,782 kids logged on in homes and schools across Australia and started coding, creating a new world record in the process.
The coding event, Moonhack, was organised by an after-school coding club network, Code Club Australia to coincide with the July 20 anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. "We connected it to the Apollo 11 landing because there was an incredible contribution here in Australia through the Parkes dish," Kelly Tagalan, general manager of Code Club Australia, told Mashable Australia prior to the event.
In 1969, millions of people watched Neil Armstrong's Moon-walk on television thanks to the signals received by satellite dishes including the Parkes Radio Telescope. "I think it's an overlooked Australian contribution to that incredible moment in history," she added.
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Founded in the UK in 2012 by Clare Sutcliffe, the Australian branch of the worldwide network for children aged 9 to 11 launched in Australia in 2014. Since then, almost 1,000 Code Clubs have formed across Australia with nearly 50,000 kids -- and around half of those are girls.
A record for the most kids coding at once has never been set before, according to Tagalan. "With kids, this is a whole new endeavour," she said.
"With kids, this is a whole new endeavour."
The team hoped to create a world record and spread the word about coding in the process. "This is the most important part: We really want kids who haven't previously had the opportunity to come to a Code Club, to have that opportunity through Moonhack," she said.
The event was in the works for about one year, and Code Club worked hard to spread the word through a network of clubs, libraries and schools. To participate, kids undertook different moon-themed coding projects they could start submitting from 12.01 a.m. Wednesday local time.
One project used the visual programming language Scratch, allowing kids to build Australian scenes like Uluru complete with noises of the Outback. Another project used audio from the actual moon landing. There were also more advanced projects experienced kids could try in the coding language Python.
For Code Club, the Moonhack event is just one of many "moonshots" -- a term for ambitious and groundbreaking projects, popularised by companies like Google.
"Code Club's moonshot is to have a Code Club-trained teacher or a Code Club running in every school in Australia," Tagalan said. "We're not stopping until we get there."
As everyone knows, the children are our future and so is coding.
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Ariel Bogle was an associate editor with Mashable in Australia covering technology. Previously, Ariel was associate editor at Future Tense in Washington DC, an editorial initiative between Slate and New America.
