Youth around the globe participated in the recent climate strikes to voice their concerns about the environment, but on Thursday students in Maple Ridge took a different approach to do their part – and the end result was an endless amount of fun.
Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Mario Bros., Donkey Kong were once the classic titles that drew crowds to an arcade, but Grade 5 and 6 students at Eric Langton Elementary didn’t need them to create a buzz around theirs.
In an effort to teach her students about the environment Erin Sands tasked her division 103 class to create arcade games from recyclable material.
“All the kids have been working really hard learning about the impact of climate change and the environment right now and how we can make a difference,” said Sands. “And that we don’t maybe need to always buy things, we can reuse to make games and have fun.”
READ MORE: Students skip school, join climate strikes across B.C.
Kids from all classes were invited this morning to “Sands Arcade” hosted in the school gym where the students showcased their creative projects.
“They kind of all came together and brainstormed all these ideas and it was really cool to see the reaction of the students who came to the arcade,” said Sands. “I had kids saying this was the best day of the school-year for them.”
Yuwo Chen, 11 and Cohen Ahokas, 10, worked together to create skee ball from recycled cardboard and tin cards.
“Anything recycled can be made into something new,” said Ahokas, when asked what he learned.
“It was really hard, but it was fun,” added Chen.
Other games included fishing, basketball, and sling shot.
“We didn’t buy any of these games, these were all just made by the kids,” said Sands.
Students will be allowed to take their self-built game home or keep it at the school to share with their classmates.
“I am just really proud today, they really came together,” Sands added.
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