Best camp ever! Chattanooga is famous for its gigabit network, but it also just opened up a new TechTown facility for teaching kids how to code for Minecraft, use a 3D printer and more.

Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video

August 3, 2015

3 Min Read
TechTown Trains Future Techies

Chattanooga is serious about its gigabit city, and not just about the bandwidth it offers. In addition to delivering a high-speed network, supporting several startup incubators and declaring a new Innovation District in town, Chattanooga now hosts a learning center designed to train the city's younger generation in creative and technical skills.

The new TechTown facility (gigabit provider EPB Fiber Optics is a sponsor) opened this summer with several camps for children between the ages of seven and 17. The goal of these camps? To support not just STEM learning (i.e., science, technology, engineering and math), but STEAM, with an added "A" in the middle for art. TechTown's motto is "Build Something Amazing," and it's giving kids the tools and resources to do just that.

The theory of TechTown is that a successful next-generation workforce will need to be able not only to engineer new solutions, but also communicate and collaborate well in the process. TechTown offers sessions in software development, robotics and 3D printing, but also in design, video production and even performance. Learning is project-based, with each week of camp dedicated to meeting a specific goal. During one week, kids developed a new elemental object -- cheese -- in the online game Minecraft using Javascript. Another group tested GoPro cameras while learning how to film a commercial. 3D-printed objects are everywhere in TechTown's indoor campus.

Figure 1: 3D Printing at TechTown in the Gigabit City of Chattanooga Kids at TechTown get hands-on 3D printing experience Kids at TechTown get hands-on 3D printing experience

Part of the appeal of the program is the access to high-tech toys. However, it's not just about having that equipment on site, but also having people who know how to use the technology. Camper Kaden Llewellyn at TechTown acknowledged that his school actually has its own 3D printer, "but no one knows how to use it."

Fortunately, TechTown isn't just hosting camps for the summer. It also plans to offer courses during the school year starting this fall. There will be a combination of after-school programs, field trip opportunities and longer-term partnerships with schools that want to take advantage of TechTown's resources and expertise.

The rollout of Gigabit broadband access networks is spreading. Find out what's happening where in our dedicated Gigabit Cities content channel here on Light Reading.

This is a positive development for students. Camper Dorisha King told Light Reading that TechTown is about more than just building tangible products. "As we're building," said King, "we're building confidence."

That confidence and skill is what Chattanooga hopes to breed more of in the coming years. After all, these are the kids who will figure out what's possible with a gigabit network. It's their work that will make the network infrastructure Chattanooga has in place now even more valuable in the future. (See EPB: 10Gbit/s Service Feasible Within a Year.)

— Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Mari Silbey

Senior Editor, Cable/Video

Mari Silbey is a senior editor covering broadband infrastructure, video delivery, smart cities and all things cable. Previously, she worked independently for nearly a decade, contributing to trade publications, authoring custom research reports and consulting for a variety of corporate and association clients. Among her storied (and sometimes dubious) achievements, Mari launched the corporate blog for Motorola's Home division way back in 2007, ran a content development program for Limelight Networks and did her best to entertain the video nerd masses as a long-time columnist for the media blog Zatz Not Funny. She is based in Washington, D.C.

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