Coolest Projects: How Kavi created her smart lifestyle app, Chew IQ!
As Coolest Projects International 2018 fast approaches, we are continuing to share inspiring stories from participants of last year’s event. This week, Kavi tells us about her awesome project and recalls her Coolest Projects journey. Kavi is a member of Tiburon CoderDojo @ BelTib Library in California, and she was 15 years old at the time of Coolest Projects 2017.
Inspiring healthier lifestyles
Kavi’s project, Chew IQ, is an innovative mobile app which helps kids to make healthy food choices. She was inspired to create this useful resource during a school volleyball session when her team learned about the relationship between exercise and energy intake through food; “the trainer told us, as encouragement, that it takes between 50 to 100 push-ups to burn off a single cupcake! The girls were shocked, as was I, and I started thinking about how little my generation knew about health.”
Kavi’s idea developed further when her school announced a challenge whereby students could design an app to win a grand prize. Kavi eagerly accepted the challenge and used it as an opportunity to create her first prototype. The project gathered momentum when, “I ended up winning the competition, and the overwhelmingly positive peer feedback received made me realize it was a viable and necessary idea.”
Prototyping the idea
Kavi didn’t stop there; she continued to prototype and develop, using research gathered from her peers to further improve her design, “it was ideal because they were my target demographic and their opinion helped progress the app to where it is today.” Peer learning, collaboration and the sharing of knowledge are all core aspects of the CoderDojo ethos, as the development of Kavi’s project shows us.
Coolest Projects: an international event
Kavi decided to take her project one step further by showcasing her design at the Coolest Projects International event at the RDS, Dublin. Having travelled all the way from California, Kavi had the opportunity to discover a new city and recalls her time in Dublin as an unforgettable experience, “I had never been to Ireland and it exceeded all of my expectations. I stayed in Dublin City College and saw such a unique perspective of the entire city.” 
Kavi highlighted how Coolest Projects is a truly international event, and an opportunity to meet fellow CoderDojo members from all over the world; “at the event itself, I loved meeting all the other attendees and sharing projects. In the USA, I have only ever worked with the kids at my Dojo so it was unique to see international Dojos come together in one collective event.” One of Kavi’s favourite moments from the day was when she met Reece Smyth, who is Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Ireland.
The spirit of Coolest Projects
Kavi’s positivity and determination is an inspiration to anyone thinking about registering a project at this year’s event; “to any kids that are looking to enter a project in Coolest Projects 2018 I would definitely encourage them to go in with an open mind. I had no expectations going in and loved being immersed in the environment that exuded innovation and ingenuity.”
Furthermore, Coolest Projects is all about celebrating creativity and being involved in a global community; while there is an aspect of competition involved, it’s the taking part which is most important! Kavi sums this up perfectly by saying, “even if you don’t win, the experience is so enriching and makes it worthwhile.”
Taking part in a Dojo led Kavi towards her Coolest Projects journey; “I am so grateful to CoderDojo and all that they have done for me and I look forward to working with them further!” If you are interested in getting involved in a Dojo too, you can find more information at http://coderdojo.com/
Register for Coolest Projects 2018!
If you have been inspired by Kavi 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 in with a chance of winning a Pi Zero and more awesome prizes! Check out this blog post to find out more.