Nelson’s club for future coders

By Finn Palmer

Aiden Curran started Coderdojo up in Nelson in 2015 because he had heard about it from his brother in Ireland.

He thought it was something he would have enjoyed when he was a kid and wanted his own kids to have the opportunity to learn how to code.

He was helped by Craig Nickles at NMIT and some of his friends.

Coderdojo is an international club that started in Ireland in July 2011 and now has more than 1900 dojos worldwide.

Aiden teaches a coding language called ‘Scratch’ as it’s an easy platform to learn and allows kids to have success early on. He also teaches some web development, as this is close to his heart.

But Coderdojo is not just scratch and web development, it’s everything from robotics to electronics and microcontrollers too.

Aiden says he likes seeing his students progress and solve problems.

Children from 7 to 15 who have an interest in computer coding will find this club useful and fun.

Nelson Coderdojo is held at NMIT in Nelson on Thursdays. It’s free, fun and educational. If you are interested in joining Coderdojo visit the website and sign up.

This article is a collaboration between Elma Turner Library’s Media Club and the Nelson Weekly, where journalists from the newspaper help keen young students from the club get their first taste of journalism.