LINCOLN PARK — Grade-school kids will learn computer code by programming drones and robotic arms in a studio classroom in a new venture launching this summer in Lincoln Park.
Codeverse plans to open in July at 819 W. Eastman St., near the New City development, but throws opens its doors online starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday for parents to start scheduling their kids' sessions ahead of the formal opening.
"We believe every kid should learn that at a young age,” co-founder Katy Lynch said. "Coding today is so much more than computer science. It’s a way of thinking that promotes intellectual curiosity, problem solving and creative expression. These are the real skills kids need for their futures."
Lynch and her husband and business partner, Craig Ulliott, aren't making any little plans with their Chicago launch either. They expect to open three other Codeverse outlets in the city within 1½ years, with a goal to ultimately teach computer code to a billion kids worldwide.
Key to their approach is a simplified computer code, KidScript, built on the same tenets as other coding languages like Python and Java Script, combined with a hands-on lab to try it out in that Lynch called "an interactive, fun, hackable classroom."
Students will use iPads to create apps and games and to "hack" or otherwise program drones, robotic arms, lasers, 3-D printers and fog machines.
"They're actually understanding how technology works using real objects," Lynch said, calling KidScript "a real programming language, designed from the ground up specifically for children to teach them how to code."
"We've essentially invented a super-kid-friendly syntax around these concepts" shared by currently used programming languages, Lynch said. "So kids are basically using a simplified language" that will "ease the transition" to the coding languages they'll inevitably be learning later on.
Up to 30 kids will be in each session, with hundreds of kids coming through the Codeverse classroom each week. Based on memberships starting at $125 a month, Codeverse will welcome kids after school, on weekends and as something of a summer camp.
Lynch, a native of Scotland, came to Chicago 10 years ago to work at Where I've Been, where she met Ulliott. The company was acquired by TripAdvisor in 2011, and it went on to form SocialKaty, specializing in social-media campaigns for tech brands, which likewise was bought up in 2014.
Ulliott went on to form Belly, where he brought in Dave Arel, who proved to be their third partner on Codeverse. Lynch, meanwhile, worked for a while as chief executive officer of Techweek. Between them, they've created a dozen start-up companies.
So they were already in Chicago, but also found it fertile ground in the computer industry.
"It's just a great place to launch a business," Lynch said, Lincoln Park especially.
"It's such a kid-friendly, family-centric neighborhood," Lynch said. "It just makes sense to launch here, because we love the city so much, and the community has been so supportive of my husband and myself."
Lincoln Park figures to see an influx of information and tech firms, she added, as the new North Branch Industrial Corridor Modernization Plan is targeting the area around Goose Island for just such businesses.
"I feel like when I first moved here, River North was really considered the tech hub, and that really expanded," Lynch said, to the West Loop and into Lincoln Park. "We feel like over the next five to 10 years Lincoln Park is going to become its own kid-friendly tech hub."
At the same time, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has touted the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math curriculum citywide, which he says creates a receptive group of students eager to get their hands on cutting-edge technology.
Added Lynch, "My stance is coding is a necessity. Kids need to have the skills to be able to set them up for jobs in the future."
And Codeverse is imagined as the place that will play out.
"It's the classroom of the future," Lynch said. "I wish I had this when I was wee."
