Visitors Enjoy an Hour of Code at TNMOC during Code Week, 8-14 December 2014

Visitors to The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) on Bletchley Park were able to join the largest learning event in history during Code Week, 8-14 December 2014, and gained hands-on coding experience at the home of Colossus.

During Code Week, every school visiting TNMOC took part in a coding session in the Museum classroom. When the Museum is fully open to the public, youngsters can join in Codability sessions and adults can work through sample programmes or do some coding themselves in the Museum’s Software Gallery.

Everyone is invited to have their Hour of Code in Code Week. Just turn up at TNMOC on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 12 noon. Even if a visit to the museum isn’t possible, the Hour of Codetutorials are available online at http://uk.code.org.

The Hour of Code in Code Week is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in more than 180 countries.

As a Museum of computing and not just computers, TNMOC is keen to get people interacting with historic and modern machines wherever possible. From the working large systems of the 1940’s Colossus and the 1950’s Harwell Dekatron, the world’s oldest original computer, through the 1970’s mainframes and the 1980’s desktop revolution to the devices of today visitors can acquaint themselves with the amazing history of computers … and get coding.

Because of its astonishing range of working historic computers, TNMOC has become a highly popular venue for educational group visits. More than 4000 students come in groups each year and have the opportunity to experience (or try) coding.

Every weekend, youngsters can take part in Weekend Codability sponsored by Ocado Technology’s Code for Life initiative ( www.codeforlife.education ) and receive introductory – often their first – guidance in computer programming from a team of specially recruited student guides. These young coders can learn how to give instructions to computers, change existing instructions in programs and create their own programs. Information leaflets enable them to continue developing their skills afterwards at home, school or in a coding club.

TNMOC visitors can experience BASIC programming on a BBC Micro from the 1980s or with the modern day Raspberry Pi-powered FUZE workstation, which also allows experimentation with simple electronics and a robotic arm.

TNMOC is open for Education, Corporate & group visits throughout the year, but prior booking is necessary – more details are available at www.tnmoc.org