A Week of Discovery at Kanokla Tech Camp

Anyone who walked into Upstairs Downtown during Kanokla Tech Camp might have seen a robot navigating a maze, a group of campers creating a video or a young “astronaut” waiting for instructions from Mission Control.

This is what Tech Camp is about: giving kids the opportunity to experience technology for themselves.

Kanokla first hosted Tech Camp in 2019 to create a place where young people could experiment, ask questions, and discover that technology involved much more than computers. Each year, we look for new activities and experiences to bring to camp. This year, we introduced space technology, allowing campers to explore how coding and communication were used beyond Earth.

Throughout camp, every challenge offered a new problem to solve. During an activity inspired by Apollo 13, campers worked in pairs with one serving as an astronaut and the other as Mission Control. One camper described how to build a special filter while the other tried to recreate it without seeing the original design. It was not as easy as it sounded when success depended on clear communication, patience, and teamwork.

Those same skills were put to the test during the Mars Rover Lag Code Challenge. Campers created commands to guide a teammate acting as a rover through obstacles and toward a sample. Once the instructions were sent, all they could do was wait and watch. A wrong turn meant reviewing the commands, finding the problem, and trying again. That’s the same process programmers go through when a mission does not go according to plan.

Communication took on a different meaning when campers became part of a satellite network. Working together, they passed “data packets” from Mission Control to a Mars base. As satellites moved or went “offline,” campers had to adjust their route without losing the information. They also used mirrors to guide a beam around obstacles and toward a receiver, discovering how even a small change in direction could disrupt a signal traveling through space.

The camp offered plenty of opportunities to create as well. Artificial intelligence became a design tool as campers made their own character posters while cameras and computers helped them produce videos inspired by Twitch. By exploring computer hardware and repairs, they also learned more about what was happening inside the devices they use for schoolwork and games.

Robotics brought another kind of energy to the room. Campers programmed Edison robots, small wheeled machines designed to teach basic coding, to find their way through mazes. They also worked with Sphero robots, round devices controlled through an app, to build carts for them to carry a pencil through a course. Makey Makey kits showed campers how everyday conductive objects could be connected to a computer and used as controls for a digital Etch a Sketch.

Not every robot followed the right path, not every signal reached its target, and not every design worked on the first attempt. That was part of the experience. Campers learned from their mistakes. They tested their ideas, made adjustments, and tried again. They gained confidence with each new challenge.

A gaming competition and team-building activities brought even more energy to the camp experience while also giving campers more opportunities to problem solve and work together.

By the time Tech Camp came to a close, campers had done much more than complete a series of challenges. They had tested their ideas, learned from mistakes and discovered new ways technology could be used to create, connect, and explore. Most importantly, they experienced what Tech Camp is all about: building confidence through hands-on learning.

Tech Camp 2026 was filled with curiosity and creativity. The campers had memorable moments as they tried new things, supported one another, and grew more confident with every challenge. We are already looking forward to seeing what they will discover next year.

Save the date! Kanokla Tech Camp will return July 20 through July 23, 2027.

By: Erma Ratliff Kanokla Community Engagement & Events Coordinator