Photograph of Ninjas learning scratch at Stockport Dojo

What will I need to bring?

The only thing you really need to bring is your imagination!

Aside from that, a few other things will be helpful:

  • A Laptop - if you have your own laptop please bring it with you (don't forget to charge it!). If you don't have one, we can lend you one but please let us know beforehand so we can make sure we have one ready for you.
  • An Adult - if you're under 12 years old you'll need to bring an adult with you, who will need to stay for the session (who knows, they might learn a thing or two themselves).
  • Lunch money - the coffee shop won't be open but there will be a special Dojo menu available.

If you have your own Raspberry Pi feel free to bring it along - that way you can carry on the fun at home! Please remember your power supply, keyboard, SD card etc.

What else can I do to get ready?

Although you don't need that much to come along and get coding, it might make things go a bit more smoothly if you can set up a couple of things beforehand. Don't worry if you get stuck, getting started is always the hardest bit and the Ninjas and Mentors at the dojo will be able to get you over most hurdles.

Some software you can install:

  • Scratch - Scratch is an easy to use graphical programming language you can use to make games and animations. We use Scratch 1.4 which you can download for free from the scratch website
  • Minecraft - If you're interested in coding for Minecraft, it would be useful to buy a Minecraft account beforehand. If you prefer not to, you can try Minecraft on the Raspberry Pi for free.
    If you want to code in Minecraft on your own laptop, you might want to try the steps in this installation guide (by Mcr Dojo). If you find any of this tricky, then just bring your laptop along to the dojo and one of the Ninjas or Mentors will help you get set up.