School and Community Winter 2023

engineering aspects of their games and develop inner workings for things like an automatic ball return. Other years, the class focused more on appearance - working diligently on painting and decoration to make the games as visually appealing as possible. Astoundingly, this was the first year there was a mixture of both. The activities included: two Plinko games, cornhole, a throwing accuracy game, ring toss with a twist, bowling and a semi-truck obstacle course. Previous years have produced dance games (inspired by Dance Dance Revolution), variations of Skee-Ball, foosball, basketball, football, throwing at targets, pinball and many others. We also have what we call the creation station, where students are challenged to create something unique. This years’ creation station mission was to put faces on puppets and create an improvisational puppet show. Of course, while part of the objective of this unit is for students to have fun and really engage with the project, that’s not the primary objective. The cardboard arcade has been held for nine years because of what this project offers the students. They pitch their ideas to the class and are given feedback to consider any needed changes. Games must be constructed while learning to work with others efficiently, There are always engineering and other problems to troubleshoot as well – rules and procedures must be decided upon and clearly communicated. Students must learn flexibility, because some problems they encounter have limitations that require them to change their plans. Just as importantly, after the flurry of building, painting and playing are done, students are required to reflect on the entirety of the project. They evaluate their game, what they might have done differently and what they would have kept. The quality of their work ethic and the effectiveness of their partnership is judged within groups. Another goal is that through all the stages of this project, students must look at failure as an obstacle to be worked around and not a final product. This shows that success has many different looks and may not be what they first thought it would be at the beginning. Give the cardboard challenge a try and don't forget to document the process! and students often deal with creative differences between team members.

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