Top Tips

Coding 3D worlds at your Code Club

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has released a path of six new Unity projects to help young people take their first steps to create 3D worlds. Find out why Unity is such a versatile tool and how you can use it to stretch your more confident coders.

What is Unity? 

Unity is a free coding platform used by developers, artists, and professionals across the globe.

It’s perhaps best known for its part in the creation of many well-known games — such as the viral hit Among Us — but Unity’s uses extend beyond the gaming world. Medical simulations created in Unity have allowed doctors to learn through 3D interactive experiences, and it can support a wide range of 3D projects, from architectural visualisations, to animations and interactive displays.

3D adventure project

Last year, several young people used Unity to make their creations for Coolest Projects. Their incredible projects included an amazing minigolf game and a virtual reality ‘Escape the Maze’ game. Through our new Unity project path, your Code Club members could build the next gaming sensation or code amazing interactive 3D stories to share with the world!

What can you learn with Unity?  

Unity scripting uses C#, which is a popular object-oriented programming language used by many professional developers. C# scripting tells GameObjects that represent characters, props, and scenery in Unity how to behave and interact. 

For learners who already have some knowledge of text-based coding, Unity opens up an exciting world of new opportunities. Our team has created a path of introductory projects to guide your learners from their first steps in Unity, to creating a self-directed Unity project. 

Before you get started

Unity is a powerful piece of software. Before you use it in your club, make sure you check the system requirements to ensure your hardware is able to run it. 

Our Unity guide takes you through all the steps to download the Unity Hub and Visual Studio. It can take a while to download this software, so make sure to leave plenty of time ahead of your Code Club session!

World builder project

Six new projects 

The new Unity project path builds young people’s skills across six linked projects.

First, there are three Explore projects for young people to get to know Unity: they build their knowledge as they follow instructions to create a 3D game with players, animations, sounds, and effects. 

The following two Design projects ask learners to use the skills they’ve developed to make design choices: they create their own 3D world and add quests and NPCs (non-player characters). 

The final Invent project of the path then asks young coders to fulfil a brief: they create a 3D adventure with a goal that the player needs to achieve. Learners can draw inspiration from a series of examples or use their own interests and experiences to decide the direction of their final project. 

We have a NEW Unity crib sheet to help you build your confidence and navigate these projects with your Code Club.

Unity crib sheet

If you’re based in the UK, the USA, India, or Ireland, visit your dashboard to download the crib sheet. If you’re based outside of these countries, visit the Club Organiser Pack page of the Code Club International website to download the crib sheet.

Your learners can also join The Raspberry Pi team for their first-ever Unity livestream on Thursday 24 March at 6.30pm GMT. The livestream will run for around 45 minutes. It will be the perfect introduction to Unity and our project path for you and your experienced coders.  

Online tips to blast into orbit with Astro Pi Mission Zero!

Astro Pi Mission Zero gives young people the opportunity to blast their program into space and send a message to the astronauts on board the International Space Station. 

With many of you supporting young people to learn to code from home, Ruth from The Mount School Code Club in York shares some tried-and-tested tips for taking Astro Pi Mission Zero online. 

What is Astro Pi Mission Zero? 

Astro Pi Mission Zero is an engaging challenge to write a simple Python program that will run on the International Space Station. The code will run for up to 30 seconds on one of the two Astro Pi computers that are on the space station. 

Step-by-step instructions are available to help young people take part in this year’s challenge, which involves measuring the humidity in the Columbus module and displaying a colourful message on the Astro Pi’s LED matrix for the astronauts to read!

It can be completed in person or as part of an online session. Entries can be submitted either individually, or as part of a team of 2–4 young people. 

The closing date for entries is Friday 18 March and Astro Pi is open to ESA Member States, as well as Slovenia, Canada, Latvia, and Malta.

Two young girls with long brown hair sat facing a laptop at a table. In the corner of the image an animation of of a astronaut is giving a double thumbs up.

Ruth’s top tips on delivering Astro Pi Mission Zero online 

Code Club educator Ruth has helped her club go into orbit with Mission Zero. Read her four top tips to make sure you have a smooth mission from online classroom to space! 

1. Show them where their code is going to run 

Engage the kids in the project before they start writing any code. I showed them a Raspberry Pi with a Sense HAT and we watched the video at the start of the project so they could see the Astro Pi computers onboard the space station. Take a look at Google Street View of the ISS, and see if you can find them on board! 

It helped them realise that the code they were about to write was actually going to be run in space!

2. Teach them the underscore (_) key! 

Kids are now used to typing on a computer, however, there are some keys that we use in code that they may not be so used to. For example in the Astro Pi project, the underscore key (_) is used often.

An astronaut in onboard the International Space Station and is pointing towards the Astro Pi's.
The Astro Pi onboard the International Space Station (Image credit ESA)

3. Fixing bugs together 

To help fix a bug, I’ll ask them to share their screen and make their code font larger on Trinket. Everyone benefits from this, as all the kids can see the problem and learn from it. Coders often help each other rather than me helping them, which is great and I always encourage this.

4. Take your time 

Astro Pi Mission Zero can be completed in one session, but we took our time and completed the project in three sessions. We used the first session for setting up, explaining the project and working on the scrolling message to appear. The second session was about investigating how to get the picture to appear, and the third session was using the sensor to read the value and to respond differently depending on the value it’s received.

Ruth’s last piece of advice:

“[At] each small step in this project I’ve seen the kids’ faces light up when they see their code working how they wanted it to and now that they know their code is actually going to be used somewhere it makes them feel even prouder. I’ve had comments from parents saying it’s the most engaged they’ve seen their child in a long time.”

My Code Club is paused

If your club is paused, we have a step-by-step video to guide coders through Mission Zero. You can share the video link and they can blast their code into orbit from the comfort of their own home! 

Connect with the Code Club team on Twitter at Code Club UK or Code Club World and let us know how your coders get on with Astro Pi Mission Zero! 

Community members share advice for running online Code Club sessions!

We understand that going online to run a Code Club session might be making you feel a little nervous. We’re here to support you every step of the way on this new learning journey. Check out our new guidance on online sessions, and read on to hear top tips and words of advice from Code Club educators around the world.

Try it! 

After a summer break, Meriden Code Club are back running online club sessions on Zoom. They shared these words of encouragement: 

“For people worried about starting something online, or doing anything different with their club, a tip would be to just try it; people won’t expect perfection from day one and you’ll learn so much about what works for you and your club.” 

Encourage creativity

Leeds Libraries created a multilevel game at their online Code Club session. We asked what their top three tips would be:

  1. Make content available in a range of formats and on different platforms to allow as much accessibility to participants as possible.
  2. Create projects with flexible goals in mind to allow for different skill sets and interpretations. 
  3. Encourage creativity! If a coder wants to try something different to what you had in mind, let them run with it. You’ll be amazed at what they come up with.
Lee has attended Leeds Libraries online sessions

Slow your sessions down 

Nicola from Code Club Australia has given some advice on how the pace of your Code Club may change:

“Talk and progress through the lesson much slower than you would face to face, and explain every detail (otherwise you’ll have to repeat it, many times).”  

Nicola from Code Club Australia

Adjust your Code Club start time

Adam runs Fleetville Code Club and has been running online Code Club sessions, using Scratch and Minecraft. Adam shared his advice to help your online sessions run more smoothly: 

  1. Assume your first session is going to be all about getting people set up on their computers. The students might use Scratch at school, but getting it running at home at the same time as a Zoom call takes a little getting used to. 
  2. An after-school online club session will need to start a bit later than an in-school club since the children need to get home ( now many schools have staggered leaving times). 
  3. Students are just as thrilled by receiving online certificates as they are by the paper equivalents – use the Code Club ones or prepare some of your own.

If you are running online sessions and want to share your tips with the rest of the community, write to us at support@codeclub.org and we’ll make sure to pass them on.