Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/01/2014
12:00 am

Category(ies)

Active Learning Services operates chess camps (thru USA Chess), Gamebuilder Video Game creation camps, Scratch Animation Creation camps, and other enrichment programs designed to stimulate creative thinking, improve logic and memory skills and give children “thinking alternatives” to sports camps and other summer camps and enrichment programs. Our enrichment programs include the USA Chess chess camps, chess lessons and school programs thru USA Chess, and our Gamebuilder Video Game Creation Programs (including our new mobile device gamebuilder program!), Computer Animation and our other Active Learning Computer Enrichment Programs.

USA Chess is the largest and premier chess camp organizer for children in the United States.Founded in 1997 USA Chess has grown from one camp in Dallas, TX to more than 100 camps across the United States! We also teach chess in over 65 school chess programs in Dallas, Houston, Austin, and Washington DC. Camps are now available in Pearland at Tottenberry’s!

Local Chess Camps:

Campers ages 5 – 15 experience chess lessons and play in a fun filled environment. Lessons are designed to improve campers’ skills whether children are interested in casual or competitive chess. Instructors use a range of teaching tools including demo boards, worksheets, stories, computers and historic games to keep class time exciting. Each half day consists of two hour lessons tailored to the ability of the children and one hour of practice to play against other students and instructors.

2013-2014 Holiday camps are from December 30 to January 3 (NO CAMP January 1)

TIME: 9:00AM- 4:00PM

Local Game Creation Camps (Half-Day and Whole Day):

Intro to Kodu:

In this half day camp, children 7-16 create their own Kodu world complete with characters such as mining rovers, spacecraft, factories and other exciting characters that interact, battle, or complete tasked all up to the imagination of the child! Microsoft’s Kodu is the video game creation software that allows children to compare and contrast different game design software with our Gamemaker camps! Children create their own worlds, add characters, make them interact and battle or complete tasks while building a video game complete with scoring, spawning characters, dialogue, enemy objects, timers and health. Then after following our custom curriculum for level 1, their creativity is unleashed as they build multiple levels. At the end of the camp, they can download Kodu and play or continue to develop their games!

GameMaker:

Campers experience a half day of computer video game creation using GameMaker software. This is an introductory course so no prior course is required. Campers will learn the basics of GameMaker and then how to program real world physics with effects such as gravity and friction. Characters move along a path, encountering enemies, prizes, and obstacles along the way. Actual programming techniques will be used to create power-ups and saved game data during the journey. Each unique adventure is programmed entirely by the student. The campers will learn basic programming skill and have the opportunity to broaden their imaginations as they create this “Platform Style” video Game. At the end of camp students are given instruction on how to download the software and their games from our website so that they can continue to develop their games, create new games, or simply play the game that they built! (There is a $49.99 license fee from YoYo games for the software to run the games. Active Learning will have a limited number of discounted licenses available for early registrants.)

2013-2014 Holiday camps are 4 Day camps from December 30 to January 3 (NO CAMP January 1)

TIME: 1:00PM- 4:00PM

For more information or to register, visit the Active Learning website.