4th March 2021
Grandparents know best! Learn what inspired Bhakti’s Coolest Projects idea.
Coolest Projects ignites curiosity and creativity amongst young coders from across the globe.
In 2020, coding superstar Bhakti (13) from Pune, India, entered Coolest Projects. She shares with us her first-hand experience of creating her Scratch game ‘Save Animals’.
Gaining real-life skills
Bhakti (13), lives in Pune, India and regularly attends her school’s Code Club supported by the Pi Jam Foundation. Bhakti is new to coding and when she learned about Coolest Projects from her teacher, she saw it as an exciting opportunity to develop her coding skills.
“I never knew that we could do so much with computers apart from emails and playing games. I never knew that I could make my own game.
That was very powerful for me. I found programming to be so much fun and that I was gaining a real-life skill, which will help me and my family in the future.”
Grandparents inspire an idea!
Bhakti’s grandparents regularly told her stories of the local area around Pune being densely populated with trees and animals, with the community growing and selling their own vegetables.
During her lifetime, this was something that Bhakti had never experienced. She had witnessed the impact of hunting and how the consequences of this practice had changed the area and the animals that live there.
The increase in hunting in her region was the inspiration for Bhakti’s 2020 Coolest Projects entry. She wanted to raise awareness of hunting and created a Scratch game called ‘Save Animals’, where players can protect animals by stopping hunters.
Designing a game on a mobile device
‘Save Animals’ was fully designed and coded on Bhakti’s father’s mobile. This presented several challenges, from access, to time on the phone, and not having enough ‘hunter’ themed sprites in Scratch!
Bhakti nearly gave up, but her grandma encouraged her to continue and even helped with her idea creation.
Bhakti’s three tips on taking part in Coolest Projects
- Don’t overthink — plan and execute!
- Share your ideas with your teacher or parent, they can help you find ways to solve the problems you encounter.
- Participation is more important than asking yourself “whether I can do this or not?”.
Proud to be part of a global showcase
Bhakti was proud to be part of Coolest Projects, along with other young creators around the globe.
“I never imagined that I could be part of a global challenge. My school teachers were very proud of me, it did take some time to explain to my parents the importance of challenges like these, which gives global exposure to kids my age.
I am glad I convinced my dad to share his phone with me!”
Bhakti loved being involved with Coolest Projects, so much that she’s participating again this year, to develop her coding skills even further.
Good luck to Bhakti and to all other young creators working on their Coolest Projects ideas!
Join Bhakti in Coolest Projects 2021!
Idea registration is now open for Coolest Projects! Wherever you are in the world, invite your Code Club members to get creative and take part in this global technology showcase. We can’t wait to see the amazing things they create.