Coolest Projects: Tayra’s awesome game to encourage healthy eating
Over the past few weeks we have featured some amazing stories from participants of last year’s Coolest Projects event. This week, we have been lucky to hear from Tayra, a Ninja at the Weda Dojo in Bulgaria. Tayra was 8 years old when she took part in Coolest Projects ‘17 with her awesome project, ABCD Code, which is a Scratch game to help children learn about healthy eating and the benefits of fruit and vegetables. 
Tayra’s engaging idea for teaching healthy eating
Tayra had the idea for her project after chatting with her mum about the importance of eating fruit and vegetables. Tayra took this advice on board and found clever ways to incorporate more fruit into her diet, including the decision to eat a piece of fruit each time she watched a movie. Tayra’s project was born as a way of sharing information about healthy eating with her peers; “my Scratch project was made in order to teach children [about healthy eating] and convince them in a fun and accessible way to eat more fruits and vegetables for the good of their health.”
Tayra’s project took the form of a Scratch game, which was connected to different fruits and vegetables using a Makey Makey. This allowed children to engage with the game’s message in a fun and tangible way; “[in the game] fruits and vegetables present themselves in an interesting way which can help children learn about the vitamins they are rich in and what they are useful for. Finally, the children check what they learned about fruits and vegetables through a short, fun and memorable game with the help of Makey Makey, which turned the fruits and the vegetables into a keyboard.”
How Tayra motivated others to get involved
Tayra’s involvement in CoderDojo and her experience at Coolest Projects was an inspiration to her community, motivating many other young people to learn more about coding and digital making. Tayra was pleased to tell us about the Dojo, Sofia @ Weda, which opened at her school. Furthermore, she was proud to share with us that she is also helping them as a Youth Mentor!
Thanks to Tayra, more young people in her community are involved in a Dojo, having fun and gaining valuable skills for the future, as well as creating awesome projects to showcase at events like Coolest Projects! To learn more about starting a Dojo in your own community, you can read more at coderdojo.com/start-a-dojo/
Recognition
Tayra’s innovative project received special recognition when she prototyped the game with the children at the Weda Dojo. The director of a local kindergarten took note of this and now plans to implement Tayra’s game as a learning tool; “I am so excited because my project will soon be included in the educational process of the kindergarten!” Tayra’s project perfectly shows how coding can have a real and positive impact within communities. Well done Tayra!
In recognition of her brilliant idea and hard work, Tayra was awarded winner in the Scratch aged 8 category at Coolest Projects last year; “I was lucky enough to be one of the winners in this competition and that my project and my hard work was highly appreciated.”
Getting involved in Coolest Projects 2018
Excitement about Coolest Projects 2018 has taken hold at Sofia @ Weda Dojo; “Everyone is preparing their projects for the long-awaited day- 26th May, for Coolest Project 2018 and are all looking forward to it. Me too, of course! I wouldn’t miss the chance to be part of this miracle called Coolest Project Showcase again!”
Coolest Projects was an unforgettable experience for Tayra. Her advice to young people who are thinking of registering this year is; “to give strength to their imagination, to believe in themselves and to seek through their projects to help at least one person in need, or to try to solve a small part of a social problem, to try briefly through their projects to be useful.”
Spoken like a true Ninja- thank you Tayra!
How to register your idea
If you have been inspired by Tayra and have an idea that you are working on at your Dojo or Raspberry Pi initiative, make sure to register your project for the Coolest Projects International event here. This year, Coolest Projects is also coming to the UK for an exciting UK event, which you can register for here.
***The deadline for registrations has been extended until Monday 2 April 2018 for both events. Make sure to register your project before then to participate on the day***
If you are unable to attend Coolest Projects, you can still share what you’re making with us using #MyCoolestProject to be entered to win a Pi Zero and more awesome prizes! Check out this blog post to find out more.