The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) Office of Computer Science is pleased to announce the fourth year of the Great Arkansas History Video Game Coding Competition (GAHVGCC).

This competition is open to Arkansas students in the 4th through 8th grade. By emphasizing storytelling, state history and coding, this competition will allow students to demonstrate their coding abilities, while supporting literary growth and expanding their knowledge of Arkansas History.

Schools are encouraged, but not required, to complete an Intent to Submit form, which can be accessed at: https://csforar.info/GAHVGCCIntent. Teams may consist of no more than six students in grades 4 - 8, and the competition is open to public, private, and homeschool students with Arkansas residency. The contest submission window is tentatively set to open on March 27, 2023, and will close on April 3, 2023 at noon.

Sponsors are encouraged to join ARKidsCanCode listserv (https://csforar.info/Listserv), and CSforAR staff are available by Zoom during weekdays upon request. We are also happy to come and speak to your students about the competition, and how these skills transfer beyond video game design and computer science.

The theme for this year:

My Favorite Arkansas Ghost Story: Folklore and fable, the rich history and dark mysteries of our amazing natural state

Arkansas is full of local and regional folk tales, and as we start to ease into Autumn, we would love to learn and hear about what stories have been passed down through your town. Ghost stories can encompass haunted houses, unrequited love, unexplained phenomena and even some silly bits of lore, and can be found in every dark and dusty corner of this state, from the Ozarks to the Delta. Need some inspiration? Visit your library, your mayor, or a local museum. Because every story is unique, we expect any kind of game could be used. So get creative, flex those coding muscles (large or small), and tell us your favorite Arkansas ghost story. As always, we look forward to playing it. 

Submissions will be accepted digitally. Submission instructions will be posted at https://bit.ly/ARCSHistComp prior to the submission window opening.

Contest rules can be accessed at: http://bit.ly/ARCSHistCompRules 

The official competition webpage can be viewed on the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education website at http://bit.ly/ARCSHistComp. 

Estimated announcement of the winner will be made on or before May 15th.