Author, Speaker and Consultant
We’ve done a lot of things in Portland, but there is one type of event that’s been missed by many people. This camp ignores a significant chunk of the Portland Tech community. In other words… We need a kids tech camp. ● Kids need to have a great place to meet each other and experience technology. ● Parents with kids should be able to bring their children to a networking
event and get to know each other. ● The venue should be fun and educational. It should allow participation
and activities for kids, so that parents can have an enjoyable time alongside them, or amongst themselves. Twitter Responses:
● Irene_S: @caseorganic That’d be great! Having kids does cut into one’s networking time. ● harrisja: @caseorganic I completely agree! more kid friendly tech events
FTW! ● smb: @caseorganic kids networking tech event would be awesome. What
age ranges are you contemplating? ● petsaretalking: @caseorganic What an awesome idea! ● anitacochran: @caseorganic That sounds like fun, get any nibbles? ● LeStew: @caseorganic re: #childtech YES YES YES!!!! ● snelson: @caseorganic I’m in for planning… especially if at least some of
program could be targeted at GIRLS and technology ● ● brampitoyo: @snelson @caseorganic I know that some robotic club are connected to DorkbotPDX, and they’re open for both girls and boys. ● neophiliac: @caseorganic sounds cool. I’ve been looking for an excuse to
learn (Ruby) Shoes; it’s great for kids. ● MatthewStadler: @caseorganic Yes on all-ages tech event. Key is all-
ages, not just “kids,”i.e., adults drink, swear, etc., alongside kids. Venue more Backspace than OMSI ● oleoptene: @caseorganic But kids tech event awesome idea we would
totally get behind. Suggest kids take part in planning of it. ● oleoptene: @caseorganic Besides bringing older offspring to Ignite (they
loved cyborg anthropology) we’ve talked kidcamp @ barcamp, facility a problem. ● kmcdade: @caseorganic I’m very interested in helping plan a kids event.
Also, @kidtech seems like the name of someone’s account, so #childtech might work better. Venue: I agree with MatthewStadler that a venue more like Backspace than OMSI is needed. Also, Oleoptene’s dea of letting kids plan the event seems really fun. All ages seems nice — but probably not too young. The cut-off age could be 6, for instance. Conclusion: Seems like we have enough interest to proceeed. The question is of “how”. A date would be nice. Some time in Feburary would give us ample time to plan a half day of activities and little workshops, as well as secure a venue and funding (if needed), and to gather momentum. The only question I have is whether the event should be large or small. Yep. So we need one of these events. Reply or contact me in some way (I’m @caseorganic on Twitter) if you’re interested in helping out. We can probably get a Wiki started and get the show on the road!