Summer vacation gives you ample free time to play your favorite Xbox games. But this summer, Microsoft is going beyond just playing games – we’re going to help you learn to make them.



The free YouthSpark Summer Camps provide kids the opportunity to learn what goes into making games, as well as learning the basics of building their own games, using “TouchDevelop” for mobile, and “Project Spark” for consoles.



Brittany Valdes, customer development specialist for the Dadeland store, reflects on what YouthSpark Summer Camps mean for Microsoft stores, “Our goal is to give back to the community that we serve and we’re very excited to offer free YouthSpark Summer Camps to the children in our community. By providing courses in game coding and design, film making and photography, we want to educate future young leaders in the science, technology and engineering industries with our store being a destination for this type of learning and education.”



The camps are held at Microsoft retail stores across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, and are broken down into two-hour sessions over four days. Think of it as a crash course in learning how to make games. The sessions feature programs aimed at kids ages 8-10, and ages 11-13 – with different curriculum for their skill levels.



For those interested in mobile game design, the camp starts by discussing the steps between coming up with an awesome idea and getting that idea out to the world. Participants who want a console gaming experience will get to go in depth with “Project Spark,” whose toolbox allows users to create entire worlds.



Campers will to learn the basics of coding, and will get the opportunity to make their own game demo and present it during the camp.



So, if you’re itching to learn how to make games, or just curious about how much work goes into your favorite Xbox games, attend the YouthSpark Summer Camps. Maybe you’ll make an awesome Xbox game in the future!



Check out the official YouthSpark Summer Camps site to learn more about these totally free summer camps, and to sign up for a course!