Arcade Proof that Imagination Hides in a Cardboard Box
Colorado Academy second graders put their creativity on display at CA’s third annual Global Cardboard Challenge. The learning activity is built around the video that went viral about a nine-year-old boy, his handmade cardboard arcade, and his dream of having customers. The video about Caine Monroy was made in 2012, and garnered over ten million views online. Tens of thousands of kids came to see Caine’s arcade. An outgrowth of the project was a new non-profit called the Imagination Foundation which launched a Global Cardboard Challenge to foster kid creativity worldwide.
Second grade teachers, led by faculty member Jessica McCoy, instituted a Design Thinking activity based on the cardboard arcade. Students had to design, test, modify, and explain their arcade games in class, and then participate in an Arcade Day (click here for photos) where other students of all ages came to play games and compliment their creativity and hard work. Complete with “staff” t-shirts and arcade prizes, the Sadler Room in the Campus Center was abuzz with game activities.
Among some of the more popular cardboard arcade games were The “Ticket Blaster,” where kids stepped inside a closet-sized box. Then a Black and Decker Leaf Blower was used to create a dizzying flurry of paper tickets blowing around inside. The goal of the game is to catch as many tickets as you can. Then there was the “Whacka Puppet,” (think Whack-a-Mole) where instead of a mallet to hit toy moles that pop up randomly, a second grader sat inside the box poking puppets out of the holes. The player had to whack the puppets and keep up with the small human inside. Says Lower School Principal Dr. Lisa Ulsh, “This is such a great example of what even our youngest students do can when given the opportunity to use the design thinking process.” McCoy says another lesson students learned was how hard the students had to work to design and then refine their projects.
On their own, cardboard boxes are known to inspire creativity and imagination among kids. How often do children forgo the gift inside for the outside box that offers endless possibilities for rockets, space ships, castles, or caves? Looking for a fun creative project at your house? Check out CA’s Cardboard Creations Pinterest Board here: https://www.pinterest.com/coloradoacademy/cardboard-crafts/
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