Kids are capable of designing buildings, if you ask Jordan Deffenbaugh. The 28-year-old wants to teach them basic architectural design principles they can use while playing with Lego and Minecraft, an online game where players can build using cubes in a seemingly infinite universe.
Deffenbaugh, COO at 4D Design + Consulting, will host the first 4D Lego Minecraft camp later this month. Kids will learn design basics, look at examples of architecture in other cities and then use Lego blocks and Minecraft to redesign downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
“We do not give kids enough credit,” Deffenbaugh said. “I’m going to collaborate with these kids as if they’re employees in a design firm.”
He chose to use toys and a video game as learning tools in his camp because of their popularity.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find any kid that hasn’t built something in Minecraft,” said Will Bushee, co-founder of Code Bootcamp, which is sponsoring the camp. “So trying to build that out in the real world is a really interesting idea.
And because kids in the camp will be working on the online game, they’ll also be able to continue working on their designs after the camp ends.
(Source: www.argusleader.com)
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