INA, Ill. (June 19, 2015) - A dozen grade-schoolers attended Minecraft Kids Summer Camp this week at Rend Lake College and learned about the fundamentals of design, creation, building, and three-dimensional space with Instructor Matt Jackson and the video game Minecraft. One of the projects for the campers was to turn the RLC Clocktower, located at the center of campus, into a sketch in the video game and eventually into a true-to-scale model on RLC's three-dimensional printer.
"It's important to see these kids use a game like Minecraft to do something like this," said Jackson. "It's teaching them about buildings and how they're constructed. I think the 3D printer is something they're hearing about, but because it's a new technology, they don't know how it works. They all thought it was very cool, and they helped by loading the material cartridge and unloading the finished model. It was cool for them to see their models in the physical world."
Minecraft camp will meet again from 9 a.m. - noon, Monday, July 20 through Thursday, July 23, in the Vocational Building, Room 103, on the Ina campus. To learn more about Kids Summer Camps at RLC, contact the Community and Corporate Education Division at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1714 or 1267.
Campers took a break from developing structures and landscapes in Minecraft Thursday morning to snap a photo. Pictured is, FRONT ROW, FROM LEFT, Mason Foreman (Benton), Colin Dodd (McLeansboro), Isaac Billington (McLeansboro), Maguire Clark (Dahlgren), Bobby White (Mt. Vernon), and Beckett Wilder (Benton); BACK ROW, Ian Dodd (McLeansboro), Malayna Bock (Ashley), Ellie Landy (Texico), Erik Healy (Enfield), Sam Buesking (Mt. Vernon), Jay Simmons (Benton), and Camp Instructor Matt Jackson. Click on the image for a larger view.
(ReAnne Palmer / RLC Public Information)
Working together to build a structurally-sound wall of plastic cups, FROM LEFT, Jay Simmons (Benton), Beckett Wilder (Benton), Malayna Bock (Ashley), Bobby White (Mt. Vernon), and Sam Buesking (Mt. Vernon) stacked a tower several feet high. The project was part of the camp designed to help the students turn a design into physical form. Click on the image for a larger view.
(ReAnne Palmer / RLC Public Information)
Sam Buesking of Mt. Vernon helped Instructor Matt Jackson by removing a three-dimensional model of the RLC Clocktower from the college's 3D printer. The campers visited the clocktower earlier in the week and made a small-scale model on Minecraft, which was then printed. Click on the image for a larger view.
(ReAnne Palmer / RLC Public Information)
Brothers Colin and Ian Dodd of McLeansboro presented the three-dimensional model of the RLC Clocktower Wednesday during Minecraft camp. This camp was the first time for many students to see and use new technologies, such as a 3D printer. Click on the image for a larger view.
(ReAnne Palmer / RLC Public Information)