Grooving In The Turtlegrove For Young Turtles

Seymour Papert introduced Logo and Turtle Graphics in the 1960s with a simple premise: children learn best by constructing their own mental models through visual play. Decades later, turtle graphics remain a powerful way to teach spatial reasoning, geometry, and foundational coding logic.

As African communities seek accessible, low-bandwidth, and engaging STEM tools for young people, TurtleGrove (turtlegrove.org) provides an open, browser-accessible environment designed specifically to introduce children ages 6–14 to the joy of programming.

In this 60-minute session, we will explore how TurtleGrove can support young beginners as they progress from simple visual steps to more advanced programming concepts, while also looking at how educators can use open tools to create meaningful learning opportunities in low-resource environments.

IS THIS FOR YOU?

• You work with children or young people and want to introduce them to programming in a fun and accessible way.
• You are an educator, community leader, or STEM facilitator looking for open tools for teaching coding.
• You want to explore approaches for teaching programming in low-resource or low-bandwidth environments.
• You are interested in starting coding clubs in schools or communities using 100% open tools.
• You want to understand how visual programming can help young learners develop spatial reasoning, geometry, and coding logic.

AFTER 60 MINUTES, YOU WILL

• Understand how TurtleGrove can introduce programming concepts to children ages 6–14 through visual exploration and play.
• Explore age-appropriate approaches for learners 6–9, using simple visual steps and activities.
• Discover how learners 10–14 can progress to loops, functions, and procedural art.
• Experience a live coding demonstration and participate in exploring the TurtleGrove environment.
• Discover practical pedagogical strategies for introducing coding in low-resource environments.
• Learn how to leverage TurtleGrove and other open tools to launch local coding clubs in schools and communities.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Pascal van Dam is a seasoned Linux and Kubernetes architect with expertise in cloud technologies. As a certified Linux Foundation trainer and IT Gilde Guru, he is experienced in making complex technical concepts accessible through a straightforward teaching approach. Drawing from extensive government and enterprise experience, Pascal brings a practical perspective to technology education and helps learners build skills they can apply in the real world.