‘Babies That Code’ Holds First Hackathon
Written by: Avery Lawson - Tech @ NewsTime News
Silicon Valley — Babies That Code (BTC), a visionary initiative spun off from the celebrated Girls That Code movement, hosted its first-ever hackathon this past weekend. The event, held in a padded, baby-proofed co-working space, saw a record turnout of over 100 infants and their highly ambitious parents, all eager to prove that it’s never too early to enter the world of programming.
The hackathon was designed to introduce newborns and toddlers to essential programming skills, laying the foundation for what experts are calling "next-gen cradle coders." From baby-friendly Python to Montessori-inspired JavaScript, the event included workshops on debugging via trial and error. “We’re redefining what it means to be ‘born into tech,’” said BTC founder Lisa Harmond. “Our goal is to create a pipeline of talent so advanced that by the time these kids hit preschool, they’ll be running their own startups and disrupting.
One of the event’s highlights was the "Code & Crawl" challenge, where babies were encouraged to input basic commands on specially designed baby keyboards. While many participants preferred to mash the keys at random or chew on them, one standout coder—six-month-old Avery Johnson—successfully implemented a rudimentary "Hello, World!" script, eliciting standing ovations and frantic LinkedIn connection requests from watching parents.
Another key moment came when eight-month-old twins, Jaxon and Mia, developed an algorithm that successfully predicted snack time, demonstrating an early aptitude for machine learning. "We’re expecting seed funding by their first birthday," their proud father, a venture capitalist, declared.
The hackathon also featured keynote speakers from the industry, including a toddler CEO who recently founded an app that translates baby babble into rudimentary SQL queries.
“By immersing babies in a coding environment from day one, we’re ensuring that they grow up with not just digital literacy, but digital fluency,” Harmond explained. “Forget waiting until kindergarten—these babies will be graduating from coding boot camps before they can walk.”
The event concluded with a celebratory nap session, where exhausted but accomplished infants dozed off to the soothing sounds of synthesized lullabies generated by an AI they unknowingly helped program.
Babies That Code plans to expand its initiatives nationwide, including a "Crib-to-Code Pipeline" and baby-led blockchain development sessions. When asked about the next event, one participant simply gurgled and clapped—undeniable proof of enthusiasm for the bright future ahead.
You may also like:
