Decoding Secret Code

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Secret Code Blog. Coding superpower tools and news.

5 min readJan 18, 2017

Secret Code is an innovative children’s book that stars YOUR girl as a tech hero. Here are the values behind the story.

The goal of Secret Code is to make technology, a male-dominated field, aspirational to all girls. It introduces your girl to a hero she can be inspired by: herself.
Secret Code isn’t just a story about technology. It’s about curiosity, bravery and leadership. Values that are ubiquitous to any fulfilling future.

How it works

You personalize the name, skin color and hairstyle online so it looks like the girl you want to inspire. Two weeks later, she receives a beautiful paper picture book at home.

Storyline
When Rox builds a ChoreBot with her coding superpowers, she makes him so powerful that he ends up cleaning up the whole city–and its people.

Let’s decode the layers behind Secret Code.

1. She’s fearless.

No giant, spider-legged, kung-fu-bandana-wearing robot will frighten this girl–she created him! But ChoreBot might be going too far. Striking fear in her town was not her initial goal. This girl is coming to the rescue with her coding super powers.

2. She questions the status quo.

One might think that being passionate about technology makes you a hater of pink, dolls and ponies. Not at all. This girl keeps an open mind and embraces what the world gives her…as a base for her own vision. When she has an idea, she makes it happen. She deconstructs her dolls and ponies to create Princentaur Bots who are ready for a revolution.

3. She’s inventive.

This girl creates robots who are either fun partners, or problem solvers. Here she’s working on her Brocc Bot code.

When Broccoli = 1
Bot.Arm ‘Turn’ = 90
Bot.Hand ‘Pick up’
Broccoli ‘Hide’

This means: “When the robot sees a broccoli, his arm turns to 90 degrees. His hand picks it up, and he hides the broccoli.”
Coding is just the language of the future! Like Spanish or Mandarin, anyone can learn it.

4. She’s passionate.

This girl thrives in her passion project bubble, and forgets everything around her. Her dad is not happy with her sense of prioritization: she should remember that living in a pigsty is NOT ok.

Easter eggs for all us 80s/90s kids: Biggie, Anonymous, Girlboss, Rosie the Riveter, Nirvana, nunchucks (Ninja Turtles-inspired), a Speak & Spell.

5. She’s a problem solver.

The best ideas are born of frustrations. When this girl meets a problem, she immediately takes action.

6. She plans ahead.

She may be a creative, but she’s also pragmatic and organized. What steps does she need to reach her goal?

7. She’s a doer.

This girl is not afraid to get her hands dirty. Playing with tools, cables and software is just as fun as playing with dolls.

8. She’s a risk taker.

This girl knows that progress means taking risks–and that’s the true spirit of innovation. She has no shortage of crazy ideas: arming her new robot with artificial intelligence may be dangerous, but it’s going to save her time on the long run. It’s a risk she’s willing to take.

9. She embraces the mad scientist in her.

This girl is no wall flower. She’s proud of her deeds and lives her emotions at 110%.

10. She’s powerful.

Things may have spun out of control, but this girl created the most ambitious ChoreBot ever: a bot so determined to impress his boss, that he decides to clean up the entire city! She’s stunned–but kind of impressed herself.

10. She takes action.

This girl doesn’t back down when faced with adversity. She has the courage to find solutions and act on them immediately.

11. She believes in team work.

Teamwork is one of the soft skills needed for a fulfilling future. And she understands that we are stronger together.

12. She’s a hero.

This girl is not afraid to attack the huge machine with her solutions.

13. She believes in friendship between boys and girls.

Because equality is a team effort.

14. She’s a true leader.

This girl is the type of boss who admits her mistakes and takes accountability. She cares about the bots she manages, and wants to make sure they are fulfilled. Just like a true leader.

15. She knows when to enjoy life and take a break.

This girl may be a bot-o-holic, but she also enjoys the good things life. A bit of rest before her next adventure!

16. She’s excited about her next projects.

The book ends with a link that leads to kid tech partners who do a great job of educating children in technology. Secret Code inspires, and partners educate. We’re all in this together.

Visit Ignite.yoursecretcode.com to start coding!