Minecraft mania returns for the summer

Andrea Roberts
Times Contributor

 

Games aren’t usually seen as a social development tool, yet the Minecraft Mania program held at the Strathmore Municipal Library was successful and will return again this summer to help children develop social skills.
The program has been running for a year and was previously hosted by the Strathmore library. This program is in such high demand that the last registration filled up in two minutes. Hosting the program for the first time, the Marigold Library System is getting involved so that more children in the community can take part.
“The program is important as it helps brings people into the libraries and it brings people together,” said Courtney Gordon, who runs and organizes the Minecraft nights.
“It is a safe, positive place for the kids where they can be creative.”
The game is about breaking and building blocks. Players can either work alone or with others to create buildings and tools while collecting materials.
The program that Gordon has planned consists of a pre-made world that she has made and host competitions where the children can win prizes. The children are either given a few options to choose from on what they would like to participate in or Gordon assesses the skill level and suggests a game.
However, she believes that the program is more than just fun, for it helps to improve the social skills and confidence of the children who enter the four- session program in a unique way. She sees a difference in the children’s confidence from when they arrive and when they leave the program.
“It is a way of preparing them for the outside world as they have to solve problems by working together and communicating,” she said.
Rachel Dick Hughes from the Strathmore library agrees that the game helps challenge the kids while teaching them to solve problems.
“Some parents don’t understand the game but we see it as an online version of Lego. It encourages problem solving and spatial reasoning.”
The idea of using Minecraft to help children develop skills is not unheard of. Some schools have brought the game into their lesson plans and the developers of Minecraft came out with a Minecraft Education version. This version allows teachers to control the content while teaching their lessons in a fun and interactive way, as the children have to work together on the server to solve problems.