Bold Idea is a Dallas nonprofit whose ideaSpark Summer Coding Camp teaches students entering grades 3-12 to build a website or a video game with support from volunteer mentors who work in technology. The 2026 program is virtual and meets twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 9 to July 16 - it is a mentored course rather than a full-day day camp - and includes about 28 hours of mentor support and 24/7 access to a remote coding platform. Courses progress from Scratch to HTML/CSS web development to JavaScript game development. Tuition is $250, free for Dallas ISD students, with monthly payment plans, financial assistance and a laptop donation program.
The practical details
We list only what the camp itself publishes, and programs change — dates, prices, ages and availability can all move after we check. Confirm the details on the camp’s own website and contact Bold Idea directly before you register or pay. Last checked August 2026.
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★★★★★Kerri RupellMy 11 year old daughter just finished her first semester at the Bottle Rocket location for Bold Ideas coding program. She LOVED it! It was a 13 week program for 2 hours every Saturday. She was so excited to go each week and loved her mentors/teachers. Not only did she learn all about coding with Python, she also learned how to work within a group and present her ideas and eventually her project to a large room of people. These are life skills being taught too! Overall, I am extremely impressed with the program! Bold ideas is a group that helps children find passions beyond just using a device to play games. They inspire them to do more and connect with each other on a human level while doing so!
★★★★★Mark IngrahamFantastic program and organization. My son has participated in their coding program for two semesters now at the East Dallas location held at the White Rock United Methodist Church's co-working space. He has had a wonderful experience and enthusiastically signed up for the upcoming fall semester. The coaches are great and each semester ends with all of the locations getting together, and each project group doing a public presentation for their project. The small group interactions and the public presentations have been a wonderful addition for my quiet and introverted son. If you have a child who is interested in coding or game development - I would highly recommend looking at Bold Idea!
★★★★★chikaodi ObonnaBold Idea ignited a passion for coding and computer programming for my 4th and 6th grader. They completed their first-semester last fall, and they loved every moment of it. The volunteer mentors (professional coders) are fantastic and very committed to training these amazing, curious coders and helping them develop the act of teamwork. My son and daughter were able to develop and present their own games. I highly recommend Bold Idea to all parents. Every kid deserves this opportunity to explore. Thank you Bold Idea for this great opportunity. Chika
★★★★★Angela & Josh SmithBold Idea has been a great program for our middle-school-age son. We love that he has interacted with volunteer mentors who are computer coders professionally and volunteer to share their knowledge and skills with curious young people. He has enjoyed building a coding project with other kids over the course of a whole semester and then getting to present that project for an audience and see other teams' projects as well. The program has a very collaborative feel and the staff members work to keep the program plugged into the Dallas programming industry/community. Glad to be part of it!
★★★★★Kimmy RobinsonThrough Bold Idea my daughter and son are learning the coding skills they will need as university students and beyond in a low-pressure, nurturing environment. Bold Idea is moving the ball forward for young people of diverse backgrounds, helping them develop valuable knowledge to join a skilled and highly compensated labor market if they choose.