ASU’s coding camp plants seeds of STEM in middle schoolers
Professors, power pellets and pixel dreams inspire students to learn about the digital world
Young students at the 2025 Desert CodeSprouts Workshop complete cybersecurity exercises. The annual one-day event introduces middle school students to computer science topics such as coding, application development and cybersecurity. Photo courtesy of Desert CodeSprouts
At this year’s Desert CodeSprouts Workshop, middle schoolers didn’t just play Pac-Man. They taught the arcade game to play itself. They also cracked digital codes and built their own apps, chomping down computer science concepts like power pellets.
For the second year in a row, the one-day camp, overseen by faculty members in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, brought a new crop of young minds to the ASU Tempe campus and blended pixelated fun with powerful coding skills to spark long-term interest in computer science.
This year, workshop founding faculty members Adil Ahmad and Hasti Seifi were joined by YooJung Choi, all Fulton Schools assistant professors of computer science and engineering, as well as Teaching Professor Farideh Tadayon and Assistant Teaching Professor Samira Ghayekhloo.
The team sought to build on the success of the 2024 event, providing even more fun and engaging activities to campers. Held in May, the workshop is part of ongoing efforts by Ahmad and Seifi to build an education pipeline to introduce students to computer science in their early years, in ways that are accessible and inclusive. The inaugural workshop drew 10 students, but this year’s expanded offering attracted 46 registrants.
“Our goal with Desert CodeSprouts is to give young learners an early primer to the core ideas in computing,” Ahmad says. “We want to give them hands-on exposure to things like algorithms and artificial intelligence.”
Leveling up the learning
The 2025 edition of Desert CodeSprouts built on last year’s popular activities, which included mobile application design and web development, adding new lessons in video game coding, machine learning and gamified cybersecurity training.
New this year, students got to design and code their own space-themed video games using block coding platforms. As they developed player movement patterns, they also practiced foundational computer science concepts like loops and algorithms.
“It was incredible to watch students use their creativity on these projects,” Seifi says. “They were having fun but also learning to code and to think like developers.”
Seifi returned to lead a session on iOS app design, in which students used Figma to create a project for a fictional animal shelter. Students brainstormed about how to help users connect with adoptable pets, picked screen color schemes and discussed accessibility features.
Ghost-chasing gets smarter
On the cybersecurity front, this year’s campers got a crash course in cryptography and cyber defense through interactive challenges. With guidance from Ahmad and student volunteers, they tried their hands at a substitution cipher challenge, learning how to encrypt and decrypt secret messages using codebreaking logic.
But the big showstopper was the introduction of pwn.college, a popular gamified cybersecurity platform developed by ASU’s own Center for Cybersecurity and Trusted Foundations, part of the Global Security Initiative.
Think martial arts dojo meets capture-the-flag, but for hacking skills. Students explored the platform’s world of modules, where users can earn colored belts by mastering cybersecurity challenges. The platform, which is currently in use in 145 countries, gave campers a sneak peek into the kind of training used by real cybersecurity pros around the world.
For students curious about artificial intelligence, or AI, this year’s workshop also featured a new machine learning module. Campers learned about AI and reinforcement learning, then applied those lessons by training an AI agent to play Pac-Man.
Using simplified machine learning models, students experimented with how algorithms make decisions, adjust behavior based on outcomes and learn from experience.
Where curiosity takes root and code sprouts
While the activities are undeniably fun, the mission behind Desert CodeSprouts’ mission is serious. Ahmad and Seifi, who were inspired by similar outreach programs in Canada and beyond, are committed to expanding participation in STEM studies.
“There’s a real need to get underrepresented students excited about these fields early,” Ahmad said. “When kids see themselves in tech, when they feel like they belong, they’re more likely to stick with it.”
Last year’s camp focused on iOS design, web development and an introduction to cybersecurity. Desert CodeSprouts also provided an opportunity for 22 ASU students to gain valuable experiencing in helping lead sessions and guide activities. This year’s additions reflect an evolving curriculum that aims to stay one step ahead of where computer science — and the students — are headed. And according to the organizers, this is just the beginning.
With growing interest and enthusiastic feedback from students and parents alike, the team hopes to expand the event into a multi-day camp in the coming years. The next Desert CodeSprouts is expected to be held in May 2026. Updates on plans will be posted on the camp website.
More than 80% of kids surveyed after the workshop said that they found the sessions informative. But there’s always a critic.
“The only comment I have is, I wish that the time would be a little longer,” one camper told the researchers.
Whether it’s teaching a seventh grader how to train an AI model or guiding a sixth grader through a cryptography puzzle, organizers say Desert CodeSprouts is planting the seeds of future careers and showing that computer science is a field in which everyone can play, design, defend and dream.
