YourNews: Minecraft Hull – City of Culture 2017

As part of the Hull City of Culture initiative and as a way of getting more young people engaged in ICT, PrimaryTec has challenged several Hull and East Riding primary schools to recreate some of the city’s landmarks using Minecraft as the platform.

Minecraft is a computer game in which you dig (mine) and build (craft) different kinds of 3D blocks within a large make-believe world of varying terrains and habitats. Its popularity is mesmorising, with well over 20 million copies sold and 3-4 million players per day, it’s admired by young children and adults.

The schools have already received their randomly drawn landmark and 10 pupils from each school have been tasked with the research and creation of one of Hull’s most popular places. Queens Gardens, Guild Hall and the KCOM Stadium are just some of the landmarks on the list, but students will have to draw upon all their geographical, historical and mathematical skills, apply them to ICT, to create lifelike representations of their landmark.

Johnathon Martin, Curriculum Co-ordinator at PrimaryTec, said that “using Minecraft to not only improve the ICT skills of students but to teach them about the history of Hull, it’s geography and all whilst using complex math skills, is a great way of accessing the students on a new level. It will also involve a lot of teamwork and cooperation which is another great skill-set for them”.

“The response and enthusiasm has been fantastic and I don’t think it’s down to Minecraft alone, the schools and students are genuinely excited about discovering more about our city and recreating these worlds for people to explore” added Johnathon.

PrimaryTec will be visiting each school to check on their progress and offer additional support. However, students are being encouraged to use various software and sharing platforms as a way of showcasing their progress with other schools. Later in the year PrimaryTec will be holding a public event where anyone can come along and explore the City of Culture world in Minecraft.

The PrimaryTec team have been working alongside the John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank (who have kindly sponsored the project) and representatives who have attended sessions so far have been impressed and are looking forward to seeing the finished version in November.

Meanwhile you can check on any progress by visiting www.primarytec.co.uk