Cardboard Challenge Tips Part 2: More Tips and Tricks

Cardboard Challenge Part 2 Tips and Tricks: Here's more tips to help support your cardboard challenge, including storage, organization, and using design challenges.

Cardboard challenges have been a core part of my makerspace programming for the past eight years.  I continue to be amazed year after year at the amazing ideas students come up with when given a design challenge and simple, everyday materials.  In Part 1 of this post series, I looked at some of my favorite … Read more

Cardboard Challenge Tips Part 1: The Tools

Cardboard Challenge Tips Part 1: The Tools // Here are some of my favorite makerspace tools to support a cardboard challenge.

The Cardboard Challenge remains one of my all-time favorite makerspace activities.  I love how accessible it is to students.  How enthusiastic and creative they can be with such simple materials.  I’ll never forget one of my favorite makerspace moments – my students at Stewart were Skyping with another school that was looking to start a … Read more

Demco Post: 3 Design Challenges for the Low Tech Makerspace

3 Design Challenges for the Low Tech Makerspace : Check out my Demco post to read up on three different design challenges you can do with your students in a low-tech/no-tech makerspace. All are budget friendly and easy to do.

Check out my post on Demco to learn more about design challenges in low tech makerspaces! Many educators have the misconception that makerspace activities always need to involve expensive technology like 3-D printers and circuit kits. But this isn’t true. Students can have amazing learning experiences in makerspaces with low-tech and no-tech tools. Design challenges … Read more

AASL Post: How to Connect Students to the World with the Cardboard Challenge

How to Connect Students to the World With the Cardboard Challenge | In my AASL post, I talk about how maker projects and makerspaces are fantastic for connecting your students globally. Here's how you can use the Global Cardboard Challenge and Skype.

Connecting Students to the World Through the Cardboard Challenge Makerspaces and maker projects can be amazing catalysts for connecting your students with others. The Imagination Foundation’s Global Cardboard Challenge is one of my favorite maker activities to help my students feel connected to the world and see the power of making. Combine that with a Skype … Read more

Cardboard Challenge 2016: More Awesome Than Ever

Cardboard Challenge 2016: More Awesome than Ever | For our 2016 Cardboard Challenge, my students went all out. Our cardboard cutters were buzzing, the hot glue guns were all in use. There were all sorts of amazing creations being built all around.

Our 2016 Cardboard Challenge We’ve been doing the Cardboard Challenge at Stewart every year since we first started our makerspace in 2014.  See our 2014 challenge here and our 2015 challenge here.  Our challenge is inspired by the YouTube video, Caine’s Arcade and the Global Cardboard Challenge.  Every year we start the challenge by watching … Read more

Maker Projects: The Awesome Cardboard Maker Cave

Maker Projects- The Awesome Cardboard Maker Cave | Maker Projects posts feature projects my students have put together. This post details the cardboard Maker Cave that came together over the course of several weeks. The cave was an installation at our schoolwide Maker Fair.

The Awesome Cardboard Maker Cave Last spring, I gave my after-school Makers Club a challenge – create a unique, interactive project that guests can interact with at our 2016 Maker Fair.  We had held the Cardboard Challenge earlier in the school year, giving my students lots of ideas on how to use cardboard as a medium. … Read more

The 2016 Stewart MakerFair: Featuring the Awesome MakerCave & More

The 2016 Stewart MakerFair | Our 3rd Annual MakerFair was an awesome, amazing event. Learn all about our Maker Stations, Make and Take activities, and our awesome student projects, including the K'nex Crossbow, Maker Cave. K'nex roller coaster and Sphero vs. Dash obstacle course.

The 2016 Stewart MakerFair Every year since we started our makerspace in January 2014, we’ve held a Maker Fair during the last conference night of the year (See our 2014 MakerFair and our 2015 MakerFair).  This year’s was even bigger and more awesome.  We had more interactive student projects and I had more student volunteers … Read more

The 2015 Cardboard Challenge

The 2015 Cardboard Challenge | Every year, we participate in the Global Cardboard Challenge in our makerspace as a part of our afterschool Makers Club. Here, I talk about some of our projects as well as some best practices I've come up with. | RenovatedLearning.com

Yes, I realize that the official Global Cardboard Challenge happened back in October, but cardboard is timeless 🙂  I did actually hold the Cardboard Challenge in our makerspace with my students in October, but between FAME and AASL, I hadn’t gotten around to blogging about it.  So here you go. About the Cardboard Challenge If … Read more

Stewart Cardboard Challenge Wrap-up

For the month of October, our after-school STEAM Maker Club has been focusing on the Cardboard Challenge.  We started off by watching the short film on Caine’s Arcade together.  If you haven’t seen it, watch it right now: My students were inspired by all the amazing games made by Caine, and immediately started working on … Read more

Build of the Week: The Best Game Ever

This week, I introduced my after-school STEAM club to the Cardboard Challenge.  When I first told them we were going to be building games from cardboard, my teens were skeptical.  All their brainstorming ideas at first involved coding and electronics.  Then we watched Caine’s Arcade and they were entranced.  Suddenly, the ideas started pouring out … Read more