We have had a few questions about our upcoming sessions which we are happy to answer, here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.

Do I need to book a place?

No, we don’t ask anyone to book places, due to the generosity of Clarin College we have plenty of space for everyone.

How long are the sessions?

Generally, our sessions are two hours long, the Explorers group with the younger children usually finishes up a little earlier.

How do I decide which group I should join?

Ninjas usually start with the Explorers group and then move on to Advancers, then to Bodgers, then to Modellers and then finally Hackers. But if kids have some experience of coding or if they’re a little bit older they can start with one of the more advanced groups. I recommend speaking to the Mentors of the groups you are interested in joining and then trying one of them out for a while, you can always move to a different group if you are not happy.

What do I need to bring along?

A laptop if you have one, if not we have a limited number of loaner laptops available.

An extension lead, there may not be a plug within easy reach of your desk.

How much does it cost?

As all our Mentors at CoderDojo Athenry are volunteers and as Clarin College allow us use of the school free of charge all our sessions are completely free.

What can I do to help?

There are several ways to help out at CoderDojo Athenry:

• By just coming along you are already helping us, as our main aim is to get kids interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and to give kids who are interested in STEM somewhere to meet and hangout with kids with similar interests.
• Help with mentoring, do you have any tech skills? If you have any experience with Scratch, Python or Blender you may be able to help with one of the existing groups or you may wish to start a new group covering some other type of technology.
• Help with admin, we are always looking for help with running the Dojo.
• Visits to CoderDojo Athenry, does you employer have a community outreach programme where they would be interested in visiting us? Do you know anyone working in a STEM related field who you think our Ninjas would be interested in hearing from?
• Fundraising, do you know anyone who would be interested in sponsoring CoderDojo Athenry?

If you are interested in helping out talk to any of the Mentors.