February 15, 2013
First Grader Zora Ball Becomes Youngest Person to Create Mobile App Video Game
Think back to your first grade days when your innovative thoughts inspired the creation of gold-sprayed macaroni collages, paper mâché pieces and indoor cardboard box castles. If you haven’t noticed, the creative process has changed a bit–especially with school-age children having access to technology, namely mobile devices.
Inventive first grader Zora Bell took technology into her own hands, becoming the youngest person to create a full-version mobile game application. Ball, who attends Harambee Institute of Science and Technology Charter School, located in West Philadelphia, presented her creation at University of Pennsylvania’s “Bootstrap Expo,” TheGrio reported.
The 7-year-old app developer built the game using a programming language called “Bootstrap” that teaches kids age 12 to 16 how to understand complex math. The pint-sized programmer learned the tricks of the trade at Harambee’s 48-week after-school program, STEMnasium Learning Academy.
In case there were any doubts about Ball’s abilities, she reconfigured her application upon request.
“I am proud of all of my students. Their dedication to this program is phenomenal, and they come to class every Saturday, including holiday breaks,” said Tariq Al-Nasir, science teacher and founder of the STEMnasium program, to the Philadelphia Tribune. “Their dedication to this program is phenomenal, and they come to class every Saturday, including holiday breaks.”
Tech-savviness runs in Ball’s family. Her older brother, Trace Ball, was aSTEM Scholar of the Year at Harambee Institute.