Autumn 2017
Cardboard, acrylic paint, decoupage, natural wooden sticks, nylon rope, plastic balls, acrylic felt, velcro
Given the challenge to create a bio-inspired play experience for fourth graders, I chose to create a physically active, challenge-driven creative building experience that is inspired by beavers’ drive to construct and maintain their lodges. Design constraints included budget, physical space, and safety considerations.
The experience is timed: 3-5 students have a few minutes to patch up the holes in their dam using cardboard sticks and felt leaves scattered throughout the 9x9 foot play area. The patching materials can be woven into the holes, stuck on to the frames using velcro, or, as some players discovered, thrown onto the roof of the dam. I designed the structure to be conducive to a wide range of physical motion to increase player involvement.
The climax of the game is the “flood” when a bucket of small blue plastic balls rains down on the dam. The rain-like sound of the flood, as well as the balls cascading in through the leaks were the peak of the immersive sensory experience. The flood serves as the “enemy,” encouraging teamwork between all players.
Although the game has a clear goal and the specific holes guide patching, I left the hole-mending method purposely flexible to allow for more creative play. After many rounds of timed play, children who were testing the game started to move into more organic role playing centering around the “flood.” I considered the flexibility of the game to free-play to be its own success.