Mark your calendars, educators! Computer Science Education Week is the week of December 7th, and this year the doors are wide open. The 2026 theme is “Open House: CS Belongs in Every Classroom,” and I couldn’t love it more. Whether you teach art, science, ELA, or kindergarten, computer science is already showing up in your room. This week is your invitation to explore it, and to bring a colleague along with you. No CS background needed!
Let’s walk through the house together…
This Year’s Theme: Open House
Think about the last open house you went to. The whole point is that everyone’s invited! The doors are propped open, the lights are on, and nobody needs a special pass to walk in. You don’t have to be an expert, a member, or even sure what you’re looking for. You just show up, look around, and maybe find something that surprises you.
That’s exactly the spirit of this year’s CSEdWeek theme, “Open House: CS Belongs in Every Classroom.” This week is an open invitation to every teacher, student, and family member to come explore computer science, whether this is your first time trying it or your hundredth. The art teacher, the librarian, the second-grade team down the hall, the parent who has always wondered what coding actually looks like: you’re all on the guest list. And just like any good open house, it’s even better when you bring someone along. So grab a colleague who has never tried CS and walk through the door together!
CSEdWeek is held every December to honor Grace Hopper, the computing pioneer born on December 9, 1906. She believed computers should speak a language people understand, and that idea is at the heart of this year’s theme: computing belongs to everyone.
This year’s CS Heroes show exactly that. The 2026 Heroes are artists, musicians, scientists, writers, and historians who use computing in their work. These make a great lesson starter. Ask your students, “Where do you see CS in this person’s job?” and watch the connections start to fly.
Use the hashtags: #CSEdWeek #CSOpenHouse #CSBelongsInEveryClassroom
Opportunities with CSTA
CSEdWeek is coordinated by CSTA, the Computer Science Teachers Association. If you’re new to CS, think of CSTA as the staff lounge for every educator who loves bringing coding to kids. As a chapter leader, I can tell you it’s one of the most welcoming communities in education.
Here’s what CSTA has planned:
- CSEdWeek Preview, Wednesday, Nov 18, 5:30 to 7:00 pm CT: A first look at the theme, the 2026 CS Heroes, and how the new CSTA 2026 PK-12 CS Standards can help you bring CS into any subject.
- Kickoff Summit, Saturday, Dec 5, 12:00 pm CT: A Heroes panel, plus watch parties near you. This is a great excuse to gather your chapter or your building!
- AI in Your Classroom: Let’s Make Sense of It Together, Wednesday, Dec 9, 5:30 to 7:00 pm CT
CSTA is also sharing the Future Me Poster, a no-devices activity where students imagine how they’ll use computing in the work they dream of doing. I highly recommend this one for younger students or any classroom where screens are tight.
FREE CodeJoy Student Shows
CodeJoy is joining the open house! Together with ClickView, we’re hosting 8 FREE Robot Memories Student Shows during CSEdWeek, scheduled at a variety of times to support time zones across the country.
Robot Memories: A Heartfelt Coding Experience
Grandma Dottie has the best stories, but she’ll need our help to bring her faded memories back to life! Elby is visiting his grandma, whose walls are covered in pictures from her life. When the power goes out, students use a flashlight to pick a picture, and their code brings each memory back to life. Students choose which memories to visit, so no two shows are ever the same!
Students will explore loops, pause blocks, and parallel programming while their code controls our cardboard robots live on screen. No robots or experience needed, just an internet connection and a room full of excited coders.
It’s a show about connecting with family through storytelling, just in time for the holidays. Want the story behind the story? Check out our Robot Memories Behind-the-Scenes blog!
To sign up, visit our Free Student Shows registration page or at codejoy.org/upcoming-events. Pick your date and time, tell us how many students you’re bringing, and a special link with instructions will land in your inbox. Spots fill up fast, so register early!
Hour of AI
If you’re looking for a one-hour activity for your class or your whole school, the Hour of AI (from CodeAI, the organization formerly known as Code.org) has a huge library of free activities for every grade. New activities launch November 16, and there’s a free Hour of AI Showcase webinar on Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 pm ET that walks through them grade by grade.
My tip, same as every year: if you’re trying to get your whole school involved, don’t just send out the full catalog. Pick two or three favorites for each grade band and share those directly. Teachers who are new to CS will thank you!
More FREE Goodies for Your Classroom
I went digging, and here’s what else is free for teachers this CSEdWeek:
- TECH CORPS & Hyland, “GAME ON” (Grades 3-8): Three ready-to-use, 30-minute lessons where students join a game studio’s play-test team and learn how AI works, including why a convincing answer can still be wrong. Register for student certificates and CSEdWeek gear (while it lasts!).
- Minecraft Education, Hour of AI: The First Night: Students team up with an AI agent to survive their first night. It’s a free demo, so no license is required.
- Google AI Quests (Ages 11-14): Free, code-free game-based quests inspired by real Google research, with full teacher guides.
- micro:bit CreateAI taster lessons: Short, free lessons where students train and test their own machine learning models. You know I had to include a micro:bit pick!
- CodeHS prep webinars (Nov 16-19): Free 45-minute sessions to help you get ready for an Hour of Code or Hour of AI.
- For coaches and admins: EdWeek is hosting a free virtual forum on preparing teachers for AI on Thursday, Dec 10.
Iowa educators: your state theme this year is “Think. Create. Compute.,” and CodeJoy is proud to be part of the Iowa CSEd Week lineup, December 7th to 11th. Keep an eye on the Iowa Department of Education’s CSEdWeek page for registration for FREE Student Shows just for your state!
Connect and Celebrate
Open houses are better with company! Invite a colleague who has never tried CS to co-host a show or an Hour of AI with you. Then share your celebrations on social media with #CSEdWeek #CSOpenHouse #CSBelongsInEveryClassroom, and tag us so we can cheer you on.
Whether you’re joining a CodeJoy show, hosting an Hour of AI, or making Future Me posters, you’re telling every student who walks through your door: you belong here.
Let’s make CSEdWeek 2026 the best open house yet!
Quick Links & Resources
- Last Year’s CSEdWeek Blog: https://go.codejoy.org/csedweek25
- 2024 CSEdWeek Blog: https://go.codejoy.org/csedweek24
- CSEdWeek Official Website: csedweek.org
- CSTA CSEdWeek Events: csteachers.org/csedweek
- 2026 CS Heroes: csedweek.org/heroes
- Future Me Poster: csedweek.org/post/future-me-poster
- CodeJoy Free Student Shows: codejoy.org/upcoming-events
- Hour of AI: hourofai.org
- TECH CORPS GAME ON: techcorps.org/csedweek
- Google AI Quests: research.google/ai-quests
- All CodeJoy Events: codejoy.org/upcoming-events
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