Students from across the state of Arizona are gathering on Wednesday, April 12 and Thursday April 13, for the 5th annual coding competition, SPARK Game Jam, at Arizona State University. The annual competition brings high school and junior high schools students together and is hosted by Gilbert, Arizona’s SPARK App League in partnership with Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
SPARK is thrilled to have Waymo, formerly the Google self-driving car project, as a new sponsor this year. Waymo will be onsite during the competition offering students an opportunity to interact with Waymo engineers and look at a self-driving vehicle.
Over the two-day competition, students will learn the importance and power of coding by working in teams to develop a game using Scratch from MIT. ASU professors and mentors will be onsite to guide the students as they build their games. All student games will be entered to win prizes based on their innovation, design and code implementation.
Learn more about SPARK Game Jam at www.sparkappleague.com.
What: 2017 SPARK Game Jam
When: Wednesday, April 12th and Thursday, April 13th from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Where: Arizona State University’s Polytechnic Campus – Cooley Ballroom, 7001 East Williams Field Road, Mesa, AZ 85212
More Info: Interviews with Waymo, SPARK organizers and ASU personnel are available upon request.
About SPARK Game Jam:
Students Participate in App Resources and Knowledge (SPARK) Game Jam is a one-of-a-kind coding competition for high school and junior high students hosted by SPARK App League. This nonprofit, 501(c)(3) program created by Gilbert, Arizona, is hosted in partnership with Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and is sponsored by Waymo, formerly the Google self-driving car project. Learn more about SPARK App League at www.sparkappleague.com. Follow us on Twitter, @SPARKAppLeague, Instagram, @sparkappleague, Snapchat, sparkappleague, and Google+, SPARK App League.
About Waymo
Waymo is a self-driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to move around. We’re determined to improve transportation for people around the world, building on software and sensor technology developed in Google’s labs since 2009. In October 2015, we achieved the world’s first fully self-driving trip on public roads, in a car without a steering wheel or pedals. We refine Waymo technology through one billion miles of simulation testing each year, and our cars have self-driven over two million miles on public roads across four U.S. cities.
Source: Town of Gilbert