Laundromat with a classroom: teaching kids how to code in Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WFXB) – Laundry Matters in Charleston, South Carolina looks like a traditional laundromat with aisles of washers and dryers, but hidden in the back is something surprising: a classroom.

Every Tuesday since March, the backroom of this nondescript laundromat has held free after-school computer science classes for neighborhood kids.

The program, called “CodeOn” — short for Coding in our Neighborhoods — brings basic tech education to kids ages 8 to 10 in one under=served community in Charleston’s Eastside. CodeOn’s laundromat classes include about a dozen students .the hardware — laptops, tablets and wi-fi routers — are donated by tech companies in Charleston, and lessons are focused around how to use the equipment and learning to code.