In President Obama’s final State of the Union Address, he issued a bold call to action to give every child the opportunity to learn computer science. He did so because computing is becoming increasingly relevant to America’s economy, cybersecurity, and national security. 

He also thinks it’s a lot of fun!

Since then, 2016 has been a year of action in support of computer science, with new announcements made today. This year alone, 14 new states have expanded CS education, more than 500 organizations have responded to the President’s call to action, and a new AP-CS course launched this fall that is already being offered in more than 2,000 classrooms. In addition, 15 federal agencies are coordinating efforts to expand CS education, with new investments and guidance. 

Learn more about all of today's announcements. 

As a year of action 2016 builds on a decade of national, state, and grassroots activity to revitalize K-12 computer science education. A clear example of that steady growth and momentum has been Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek).

First launched in 2009 with a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives, and timed in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer and Medal of Freedom recipient Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, CSEdWeek has since grown into a global event celebrated worldwide where millions of students, educators, parents, and industry volunteers participate in events and activities to inform and educate students about computer science and career opportunities in technology. 

In 2013, President Obama kicked off CSEdWeek with a video message urging students to try their hands at computer science saying, “don’t just play on your phone, program it.”

During CSEdWeek 2014, President Obama became the first President to write computer code as a part of a student coding activity at the White House, and last year the White House hosted the CS Tech Jam to bring developers, educators, and students together to develop new innovations for CS education. 

This week, Obama administration officials, alongside hundreds of local and national organizations, are joining community-led CSEdWeek events across the nation, ranging from the Inland CSforAll Summit, which brings together school districts and community partners across central California, to the BotBall Junior tournament in Oklahoma City where 1,000 students will show off their software skills as they compete with autonomous robots, to the “Cuppa Code” meet-up for new CS teachers and tech professionals in Arlington, Virginia, hosted by CodeVA and Starbucks to the General Services Administration’s “Grace Hopper” Hackathon for open government.

Find an event in your community, and join the movement to bring computer science to all of our children!

The House resolution specifically offers kudos to National Lab Day, a nationwide initiative to build local communities of support that will foster ongoing collaborations among volunteers, students and science educators. It’s an effort that the First Lady highlighted this week as she cheered on the final teams at National Science Bowl. As the First Lady put it:

That's why my husband and his administration want to ensure that every single child in this country gets a good education, particularly in math and science.

Next week’s National Lab Day is a great example of what this might look like—this kind of investment. The President has highlighted his grassroots effort, which brings together scientists like Secretary Chu, organizations representing teachers, scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and local volunteers to work with young people in fun hands-on learning.

These students are going to be with us, they’re going to launch rockets, construct miniature windmills, and learn by doing and not just by listening.

We want to bring more hands-on learning like this to students by also modernizing science labs and supporting project-based learning, and expanding advanced courses in schools throughout the country.

We want to create more opportunities for under-represented groups as well, particularly women and girls. We want them to have the confidence; we want all our young women to have the confidence and the support to take on the study and to succeed in the study of science, math, engineering and technology.

And we want to build communities of support for all the teachers who make these subjects come alive for our students. We couldn't do it without you.

The President, First Lady, and 378 members of Congress can’t all be wrong! So get involved with National Lab Day by volunteering, posting a project, or making a video. May 12 is National Lab Day.

Kumar Garg is a Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

At the 2010 White House Egg Roll yesterday, preschoolers and students had the opportunity to learn some science, with the South Lawn of the White House as their laboratory setting. Some dissected seeds, looked through a microscope, and thought about how plants grow. Some made simple box kites from paper bags, and thought about what makes a kite fly. All had fun exploring the world around them.

A young girl looks at flower parts under a microscope at the Make-your-own Garden Science exhibit at the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House, April 5, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy) April 5, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

These and other STEM activities were the result of a month of planning by OSTP and key partners in science and media, including:

• The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which ran a wonderful “Science of Spring” activity section, allowing parents and children to dissect green been seeds, look at them under a microscope, take beans home to plant, and document their progress online. (You can plant your own seeds and post their progress on that site as well.)
• The Lawrence Hall of Science, which ran a kite-making activity in the Eggspress Yourself section, giving kids a chance to create something themselves and learn about wind energy and flight (while gaining a good excuse to run around). Volunteers helped students experiment with different designs and gave them tips to continue learning at home.
• Discovery Channel’s celebrity scientist-chefs  Homaro "Omar" Cantu and Ben Roche, of the new show Future Food, who spent much of their day in the “Play with your Food” section showcasing food science and entertaining ways to make food more healthy. In one, they showed a way to carbonate fresh fruit to create a fun, healthy, eating option. You can check out their recipes yourself.

All in all, an egg-ceptional time was had by all.

Kumar Garg is a Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Volunteers from the Lawrence Hall of Science helped children build kites as one of the science activities during the 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll. (Photo by Steve Robinson) April 5, 2010. (by Steve Robinson)