It’s time for Staten Island schools to get their game on. Dozens of high-school students gathered at Wagner College Thursday for the launch of NYC’s Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, along with representatives from the Department of Education (DOE) and Wagner College, announced the kick off of the challenge. Students in attendance represented DOE high schools from around the borough.
“It’s a wonderful collaboration and combination between learning, building, innovation, creativity, and working with others,” Fossella said. “This will serve them well. Not just in college, but the years beyond.”
The NYC Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs
As part of the challenge, students compete using the video game Minecraft to build inclusive and sustainable places around NYC To compete in the challenge, students from DOE schools in grades K-12 work in teams to create their projects. Information on how to join the challenge is available on the NYC Public School website. The deadline for submissions is April 5.
Staten Island teams that are selected will then compete for the borough championship on May 13 at Wagner College. Each borough champion who wins this “esports” round will then compete for the Mayor’s Cup on a date to be announced later in the spring.
By participating in the challenge, students have a chance to explore the five boroughs, speak to local officials and learn more about NYC’s improvement plans. Students will develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills in a fun and immersive way.
Students can refer to Mayor Eric Adams’ message for a glimpse of what the project will look like:
“By nurturing our bright young minds and preparing our students to be the future leaders in green industries, we are building an even greater New York City, and I can’t wait to see what they can do,” Adams said.
What is Minecraft?
Simply put, Minecraft is a video game where players explore a blocky, three-dimensional world. Players can discover and extract raw materials, craft tools and build structures and more. It was developed by Mojang Studios, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2014.
“The Battle of the Boroughs esports competition will build teamwork and collaboration, inspire future careers and show us all what kind of city today’s youth want to live in,” Allison Matthews, head of Minecraft education, said. “ We can’t wait to see what they come up with.”
To learn more about the NYC Minecraft Education Challenge, visit schools.nyc.gov.
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