Never underestimate kids and their ability to turn cardboard into anything.
The gym of Frank Hobbs elementary school went wild with excitement on Wednesday afternoon as students came through, two classes at a time, to play about two dozen arcade games, all made out of cardboard and other odds and ends.
It was the school’s first annual Cardboard Carnival, and it was a smashing success. The arcade project was inspired by Caine’s Arcade, the 2012 YouTube hit with millions of views in which a nine-year-old boy converts his garage into a homemade arcade.
“We showed the video in October and throughout the year the students created the idea, developing their skills, using the engineering process to see if it works, testing what works, and then going back and reworking it,” said teacher-librarian Natalie McIlmoyle, who led the program for three classes, a Grade 3-4 split, Grade 4 and Grade 4-5 split.
The students got in the cycle of testing their game, making adjustments and adding improvements.
It was a hands on way to incorporate the elements of STEM (sciences, technology, engineering and math), McIlmoyle added.
“Next year we’re going to have all the classes do this, and we’ll have an even bigger carnival at the end of the year,” she said.
