Fourth grade students at Marcy Elementary School welcomed families and younger students to Arcade Day May 19 and 20. The annual celebration is the final result of a month-long STEM project that involves students designing and building their own cardboard arcade games.
STEM projects engage students in hands-on learning by combining science, technology, engineering and math. The projects are designed to spark curiosity and problem solving skills.
“This year there is a game that involves cooked pasta,” exclaims Marcy Elementary School Teacher Julie Greenwald. “That is a first! I love seeing what the kids come up with.”
Greenwald says fourth graders are at a great age to share creativity while growing interests and independence. “The arcade project really builds on the message we teach from the beginning of the year, that you can grow grit and persevere through challenges,” she says. “A cardboard box provides endless opportunities to showcase creativity. More importantly, it provides many opportunities to try and fail. Making an arcade game isn’t easy. From the design to the build, there can be many bumps along the way. Those challenges are so educational and character-building for kids.”
Students design and plan all elements of their arcade games including how points are scored and what skills are used. Students are each asked to bring a cardboard box to school. Students use the boxes as well as other donated classroom supplies to complete their arcade games.
“This is a celebrated project for fourth graders because it is our culminating STEM challenge from fourth grade,” shares Marcy Elementary School Teacher Joe Harkins. “Each week we dedicate one classroom session to do a STEM Challenge. These vary greatly from week to week, but our longest and most thorough challenge is the cardboard box arcade.”
While Arcade Day itself is the big event following weeks of work, teachers emphasize the importance of the classroom energy as students prepare. “When students are constructing the games, it is an amazing sight,” explains Harkins. “Getting to see kids working together with their partners is very special.”
“You’ll see partners working together making decisions about how to get a claw to capture something in the box or a debate about masking tape versus duct tape,” Greenwald shares. “Duct tape usually wins! You’ll see students bouncing from supply tables to work areas excited that they found the exact paper plate they need or enough pipe cleaners to do the trick,” she adds. “There is a hum in the room. It is that positive buzzing energy that teachers always hope accompanies learning. You can feel it.”