More than 300 tweens, teens and their parents will learn to design their own computer games, code in a variety of programming languages and even hack a little at the third annual San Antonio Youth Code Jam, a free event to be held Saturday, September 20 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Rackspace Global HQ.

Because why would you want to just play a game when you can learn to create your own?

The San Antonio Youth Code Jam, a project of SASTEMIC, is a workforce development initiative to engage young students in technology by introducing them to a variety of coding activities and languages early on and by providing their parents a roadmap for the migration path from early coding to professional STEM careers.

Designed to be a loosely structured, collaborative and creativity-inspiring experience for youth, students participate in a variety of hands-on stations in a plug-and-play kind of way. They have the opportunity to learn Java, Python, Minecraft, HTML/CSS, cyber security and Scratch. They are mentored by experts in the industry who volunteer their time to share their passion of programming.

By requiring parents to stay with their children, we are building a deeper level of engagement and support for students to be inspired and pursue tech-related career paths.