Help your kids get future-ready.
Have a kid who’s always taking apart gadgets to see how they work? Maybe you’ve got one who needs to brush up his or her science subject knowledge at school. Whatever be your reason, you’re in luck! Hong Kong has plenty of great classes and workshops to inspire kids in STEM, STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts and Maths) studies and coding. Science camps over holidays are a great way to keep children engaged, and parents have discovered over the last year that these classes can continue even online! From classes teaching robotics to laboratory experiments, computer programming, digital art and more, there is a science, technology, engineering or coding class for every child in Hong Kong.
Editor’s Note: The situation in Hong Kong regarding closures and restrictions on opening hours due to the coronavirus is constantly evolving. Many businesses are taking extra precautions, but please make sure you follow the latest government advice and stay home if you have recently travelled overseas, have interacted with anyone who has been away, or display any symptoms. Many classes have been temporarily suspended, have moved online or are available for small, private groups. Please get in touch with individual class operators to find a suitable programme for your children.
Read more: Extracurricular Activities And Classes In Hong Kong: From Toddlers To Teens
ESF Language and Learning
Recognising that coding is the language of the future, ESF Language and Learning offers coding classes for both ESF and non-ESF students. Children are able to think outside the box and pick up tech fundamentals easily. Depending on the age and interests of your kids, you can enrol them in a wide variety of classes. Primary school children (starting at 8 years) could take the First Steps In Coding course or explore science through Magic, Myths and Monsters, while those slightly older could build their own 2D Arcade Games. And there are exciting choices for the future Elon Musks and Steve Jobs!
For now, these classes are being offered only online so safety and hygiene isn’t a worry. The class sizes have been kept small (6 to 8 students) so that teachers can offer special attention to each child. Personal computers are required for online and on-site coding programmes (tablets are not recommended).
Sassy Mama tip: If you want to sign up for January to March term, please do so quickly. The term starts on Monday, 18 January 2021 and registrations close (for the rest of the term) after the second class as new students will not be able to keep up!
Courses: Building AI, Build a Green Business, Mobile App Development with Thunkable, Tech Entrepreneur and more; Holidays camps available as well
Ages: 8 to 12+ years
ESF Language & Learning, [email protected], www.esf.org.hk
Preface Coding
Looking for a top-notch coding class for your child (or perhaps you’d like to upskill yourself)? Preface Coding provides personalised, one-on-one coding courses for kids, adults and also corporate organisations. Classes are available in-person at its Central, Causeway Bay and Taikoo Shing campuses, and online. If you are looking for private tuition at home, Preface Coding is happy to find the right tutor for you as well.
Preface Coding promises to help kids get tech-savvy as they create fun games, animations, mobile apps and webpages. These children have the chance to participate in coding projects with big, international brands. In the past, Preface’s students have been involved in tech collaborations with Warner Music, Facebook and Asia Miles, and have also had the chance to showcase their creative ideas at MIT Global Coding Summits. With a smart AI-backed matching system, Preface finds its students the most suitable teacher, according to their interest, learning style and background. This way, it can offer a customised and flexible learning experience to every student. Other than Hong Kong, Preface Coding has offices and operations in London and Tokyo.
Courses: ScratchJr, Scratch, App Inventor, Web Development, Python and more; Holiday boot camps available as well
Ages: 3 to 15+ years for kids and teens, adult programmes available as well
Preface Coding Central, G/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
Preface Coding Taikoo, 19/F, 14 Taikoo Wan Road, Tai Koo, Hong Kong
Preface Coding Causeway Bay (also HQ), 45/F, Lee Garden One, 33 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, 2371 4738, WhatsApp: 6417 6608, [email protected], www.preface.ai
iD Tech
Let your primary schoolers and teens join over 50,000 students worldwide who are benefitting from iD Tech’s virtual classes and camps. Structured, week-long sessions will help to build in-demand skills such as coding and are now available in multiple time zones. Each class or camp has an average of five students per instructor, so you know that your eager young learner will get adequate attention and instruction, while also having the opportunity to work with friends. The week-long camps (offered every spring and summer) include a balanced schedule of two hours of live instruction and peer collaboration, along with two hours of self-paced project development per day.
Courses: Python, Java, Minecraft, Roblox, Unity, Adobe, 3D modelling and more
Ages: 7 to 18 years
Sassy Mama tip: Don’t forget to keep an eye out for special codes and deals while signing up for the summer camps.
iD Tech, [email protected], www.idtech.com
Read more: How COVID-19 Is Reshaping Education In Hong Kong
ActiveKids
ActiveKids has been delivering quality educational courses for kids since 2004. Its science classes span different science disciplines and follow a US-based nationally accredited curriculum. The coding & robotics programme integrates STEAM approaches with both Japanese and US curriculum guidance.
Courses: Hands-On Science and Coding & Robotics; Holidays camps available as well
For Ages: 3 to 14 years
ActiveKids, Unit A, 1/F, Nan Sang Building, 86 Belcher’s Street, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong, 3480 4199, www.activekidshk.com
Blueinno Technology
If you are interested in enrolling your little geeks for an extensive longterm course, look at the 2-year (six terms) courses offered by Blueinno Technology. And if you, as parents, would you like to prove to your children that you “have game”, consider signing up for a fun parent-child robotics workshop!
Courses: Robotics, Digital Making, AI, Coding and more
Ages: 6 to 11+ years
Blueinno Technology, Room 906, 9/F, 789 Nathan Road, Prince Edward, Hong Kong, 3914 5257, [email protected], www.blueinnotechnology.com
BSD Education
BSD Education offers a wide variety of virtual coding and technology classes. After learning the basic concepts, kids are encouraged to create and work on live projects and put their learning into practice. BSD has partnered with many schools all over Hong Kong and also offers classes for teachers.
Courses: Coding, Game Development, Tech Entrepreneurship, App Development; Holidays camps available as well
Ages: 5 to 18 years
BSD Education, 15/F, 88 Commercial Building, 28-34 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, 9080 7371, [email protected], www.hk.bsdacademy.com
Read more: Learning Fun: Best STEM Toys For Kids Of All Ages
Cobo Academy
Recognising that programming will be the language of the future and AI will be needed to solve world problems, Cobo is all about combining coding and robotics. It was started by tech veteran and former Microsoft engineer, Harris Chan, and offers classes for all ages in-person as well as online.
Courses: Coding, Robotics, AI, and more; Holidays camps available as well
For Ages: 4 to 15+ years
Cobo Academy, 6/F, Yam Tze Commercial Building, 23 Thomson Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, 3905 1111, www.coboacademy.com
Coding 101
With online options as well as in-person coding classes from Hong Kong Science Park, Coding 101 offers a variety of courses for kids aged six and over. It also offers STEM and coding programmes to primary and secondary schools.
Courses: Scratch, Python, CoSpaces VR, Web Design
Ages: 6+ years
Coding 101, Suite 310A, Core Building One, Hong Kong Science Park, Sha Tin, Hong Kong, 3705 2490, [email protected], www.coding101.hk
Coding Kids
With the aim to make coding lessons accessible to every kid, Coding Kids offers online coding courses for kids that will fit into any family’s busy schedule. Though now based in Sweden, founder and lead coding educator, Terence Wayburne has built a curriculum based on documentation provided by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). He aims to get students to a level where they will get certification by W3 schools in frontend development.
Courses: Online coding courses including JavaScript, Bootstrap, Frontend development and Game Development
Ages: 7 to 13+ years
Coding Kids, [email protected], www.codingkidshk.com
Creative Coding
From learning to code with Minecraft to learning Maths with programming, Creative Coding offers a wide range of digital literacy-based classes for kids. Besides online learning, in-person classes are also conducted at various schools and education centres across the city.
Courses: Code Club, Scratch Coding and AI, Coding with Minecraft, Scratch Maths, Animation and Game Design and more
For Ages: 5 to 14 years
Creative Coding, Unit 9, 8/F, International Plaza, 20 Sheung Yuet Road, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong, 2707 6578, [email protected], www.creativecoding.hk
Curiosity Kids
Curiosity Kids wants to nurture the natural curiosity of children and help them relate to and understand the science behind everyday occurrences. It also offers offer science-themed birthday parties and private workshops for your little Einsteins.
Course: Classes divided according to age groups; Holidays camps available as well
Ages: 24 months to 8 years for in-person classes, 5 to 9 years for online classes
Curiosity Kids, [email protected], www.curiositykidshk.com
Read more: Sassy Mama’s Guide To Kids’ Birthday Party Entertainers In Hong Kong
Dalton Learning Lab
Dalton Learning Lab offers after-school educational STEAM programmes that help kids develop innovative thinking and useful real-world skills. It is a joint venture between IT and cloud computing company, Outblaze and the two Dalton School co-founders.
Courses: Coding, Robotics, Digital Art & Music
Ages: 4 to 13 years
Dalton Learning Lab, Unit 301, 3/F, Core A, Cyberport 3, 100 Cyberport Road, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, 2362 9003, www.daltonlearninglab.com
First Code Academy
This academy develops curriculums for coding skills, computational thinking and an entrepreneurship mindset. It has a number of interactive and project-centred courses to teach kids coding. It started as a “Girls Who Code” workshop in 2013, expanded to Taiwan and Singapore and later moved completely online.
Courses: Coding programmes for different age groups, classified as Junior, Tinker, Explorer and Creator; Holidays camps available as well
Ages: 6 to 12+ years
First Code Academy, 2772 2108, [email protected], www.firstcodeacademy.com
Futurekids
One of the pioneers of computer education for kids in Hong Kong, Futurekids was established in 1992 to give kids the skills they’ll need to be successful with computers and technology. It offers children and teenagers weekly classes, holiday camps, Cambridge ICT Starters assessments and preparatory courses, as well as those for IGCSE and GCE A-levels.
Courses: Computer Coding, Software Application, Cambridge ICT Starters and more; Holidays camps available as well
Ages: 6 to 14+ years
Future Kids, Flat A, 7/F, China Harbour Building, 370 King’s Road, North Point, Hong Kong, 2503 1813, WhatsApp: 5422 5884, [email protected], www.futurekids.com.hk
Genius Development
Following a hands-on learning approach, Genius Development aims to further students’ interest in Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Engineering. Genius Development has created science-focused projects and experiments for children from the age of 3 to 15 years. It believes that its programmes are made in such a way that they help kids to think like real scientists and tech experts.
Courses: Science, Computer, Test Preparations and more
Ages: 3 to 15 years
Genius Development, various locations across Hong Kong, 2180 9248, [email protected], www.geniusdevelop.com
Read more: Skills That Our Children Will Need In 10 Years’ Time
Koding Kingdom
Since its inception in 2013, Koding Kingdom has offered fun and interactive coding courses for over 10,000 students. Appropriately staged by age groups, these programmes are conducted at Koding Kingdom centres, partnering schools and affiliated organisations.
Courses: AI and Machine Learning, Java Programming, Python, Jr Roblox Game Development and more; Holidays camps available as well
Ages: 5 to 16+ years
Koding Kingdom, Level 4, Cyberport 1, 100 Cyberport Road, Hong Kong
Koding Kingdom, Room 11, 6/F Harbourfront Landmark, 11 Wan Hoi Street, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, WhatsApp: 9224 6986, [email protected], www.kodingkingdom.com
RoboCode Academy
This institute believes that coding skills can be learnt by children as young as 4 years. They are helped by natural logical thinking, an experimenter’s mindset and a desire to be a creator (not just a consumer).
Courses: Robotics and Coding programmes for different age groups, classified as Achiever, Builder, Creator, Developer; Holidays camps available as well
Ages: 4 to 12+ years
RoboCode Academy, various locations across Hong Kong, 2488 1412, WhatsApp: 5998 8972, [email protected], www.robocodeacademy.com
STEM Ex
Realising that STEM subjects are intertwined with living and quality of life, STEM Ex aims to equip learners for future challenges. As such, it focuses on three pillars: robotics and coding; technology and coding and smart city & energy. Its Engineering For Kids curriculum is based on those in the US: Science (NSES), Technology & Engineering (ITEEA), and Mathematics (NCTM). Online and in-person classes are available.
Courses: Mechanical Fun, Chemical Genius, Environmental Pioneers and more; Holidays camps available as well
Ages: 4 to 10 years
STEM Ex, Unit 501, 5/F Austin Tower, 152 Austin Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, 3462 2018, [email protected], www.hk.stemex.org
The Genius Workshop
Since 2004, this centre has been working to make STEM learning more accessible and fun to kids of all ages. It offers online and in-person programmes for kids in a variety of science and tech focuses. They also know how to keep kids entertained at birthday parties.
Courses: Engineering, Coding and Digital Creation; Holidays camps available as well
Ages: 3 to 14 years
The Genius Workshop, various locations across Hong Kong, WhatsApp: 6211 1968, [email protected], www.g-workshop.com
Tiny Code
Keen to have your kids learn how to code but want personalised attention? Tiny Code provides in-home or online private STEM and coding classes. These classes are run by experienced teachers and they will tailor-make the course and curriculum to your child’s needs.
Courses: Scratch, Python, Web Development and more (children and parents can choose); Holidays camps available as well
Ages: 5 to 15 years
Tiny Code, WhatsApp: 9774 9057, [email protected], www.tinycode.hk
Read more: Remote Learning: Online Study And Extracurricular Classes For Kids
