Mind Candy launches new magazine to teach girls to code

Children’s game company Mind Candy, founded by former Young Gun Michael Acton Smith, today announced the launch of a new magazine intended to teach young girls coding and programming skills.

Based around Mind Candy’s popular Moshi Monsters characters, Poppet will be a ‘positive, aspirational’ magazine intended to promote the accessibility of basic coding to girls through articles and visual puzzles.

The magazine will also feature articles on the different roles available for women in the tech industry, from developers to product managers, animators and game designers.

It is intended to coincide with the Government’s Year of Code scheme – a non-profit campaign to encourage people across the UK to learn to code. Mind Candy CFO Divina Knowles sits on the advisory board for the scheme.

Mind Candy said it aimed to plug a ‘gap in the market’ with the launch of the magazine, believed to be the first to directly target young girls and encourage them to code.

Jess King, the new in-house editor of Poppet magazine, said: “There is nothing currently in the market that aims to bring the tech industry to life for this age group.

“Mind Candy has education at the heart of its company values and we felt that there was a gap in the market when it came to educating young girls about the tech world; how to get involved, what jobs are available, but mostly how cool and creative it is.”

“The tech industry has long been seen as a man’s world and something that is ‘not for girls’ but we completely disagree with that notion. There are more and more women shaking up the sector and we hope that Poppet magazine will inspire the next generation of female techies.”