School and Community Winter 2023

Accepting the Cardboard Challenge

BY: MELODY DRAWBOND, EVERTON R-3 I n 2011, a filmmaker named Nirvan Mullick went to an auto body store to pick up a part. When he got there, he found the owner’s son had created an entire arcade of games created from cardboard boxes. After playing some of these games with nine year-old Caine Monroy, he was astounded at this display of creativity. A few weeks later, he returned to ask Caine’s father for permission to make a short film about the arcade. George Monroy not only granted permission, but also shared that he (Nirvan), had been Caine’s first and sole customer. After learning this, the filmmaker decided to organize a surprise flash mob of customers for Caine’s Arcade. On October 2, 2011, a crowd of over 100 gathered to play at Caine’s arcade. The filmmaker released his short documentary and it went viral! With the success of the documentary, the filmmaker created a college fund for Caine and the Imagination Foundation, which is a nonprofit with a mission to find, foster and fund creativity and entrepreneurship in children. Each year they issue a global cardboard challenge, which culminates in a day of play. As part of my research skills class for eighth graders, we always watch that video on YouTube. From there, the students decide if they would prefer to work alone or in a group. Then the planning process begins where they brainstorm and sketch their design ideas for activities that young people would like to engage with. Ideas are pitched to the class, and they ask for feedback from peers. After some practice with different joining techniques, an introduction to the tools and the ever-important safety demonstration, construction begins. Every year, this project comes out differently – some classes tend to focus on the

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