Kikicode: teaching robotics to kids in Montreal

One block south-west of Ecto coop co-working space on Plateau Mont-Royal is Kikicode Café and Code (4304 St Denis St - between Rachel and Marie-Anne), a café and learning space that targets both 4 to 12 years old excited to learn robotics and technologists looking for a place for Meetup. For example, this week was the Elastic Search meetup is there this week Tuesday November 22nd. It's also a good place for technologists and freelancers who want to have client meetings in a cool environment.

Worth mentioning although my nickname when I was young was Kiki, this has nothing to do with me. Kikicode is both a play on words "Qui qui code?" (who's coding?) and the nickname of Jacques Nacouzi, the founder of Kikicode.

The space is "modern geek" decorated: recycled memory DIMM lampshades, Python code snippets for the menu, wire like piping adorn the ceiling and robotics teaching product boxes are prominently displayed on the walls.

The model is generous: you either pay each drinks and snacks (cakes and light lunch fare) or pay a flat fee and get unlimited drinks and snacks. Access to the meeting room is free to clients.

This nice Saturday morning of November I was visiting, two concurrent robotics workshops were running. Both workshops led by two engineering students while Jacques was preparing the content of the next class - a step-by-step tutorial of a wheeled robot able to navigate environment and react to obstructions. The content is being used both for on-premises workshops and classes given in high school.

The future is for him to attract more day use and scale his high school and elementary school daytime client base. He took a keen interest in adding Eduardo Alarcon's Tokymaker to his curriculum.