Abbotsford students make their own arcade

A group of Abbotsford students in grades 3 to 5 took to the scissors, cardboard and other tools of their trade to make a temporary arcade.

No, the games don’t involve flashing screens or other electronics. Instead, they were a labour of the Godson Elementary School students’ creative muscles, with arts and crafts supplies – mostly cardboard – in hand.

“Students in grade 3 to 5 rolled up their sleeves for the first six weeks of school following the new BC curriculum STEAM guide lines by designing their own arcade games,” said Heather Douglas with Godson Elementary in an email. “Students went from using their imagination to designing, and finally creating their own arcade game. The enthusiasm was high, and all the students worked diligently every Learning Commons class.”

The concept is called Caine’s Arcade. It started with nine-year-old Caine Monroy, who spent the summer of 2011 “building an elaborate DIY cardboard arcade in his dad’s used auto parts store in East Los Angeles,” which was featured in a 2012 documentary and ultimately led to the creation of a non-profit, Imagination.org.

“Students spent time watching some videos on how to create a cardboard game. Learning about various ways of cutting, gluing, and taping cardboard together. Students worked in groups or individually creating exceptional works of art that provided hours of playing fun for all the Godson Kindergartners to grade two students,” Douglas said, adding that the students learned about more than just creativity.

“Students learned how to co-operate with other students, make modifications to their game to make it stronger and playable. Students then decorated their games using wrapping paper, colouring with crayons or paint.”

Douglas said the event, in which students got to show off their games in an arcade in the gymnasium, was a “grand success.”

“The gymnasium was loud with laughter and cheers. The game players were able to cash in their winning tickets for some amazing toys for everyone.”

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