Fifteen young digital leaders from Arnewood School (three girls, twelve boys) have been working on a digital replica of New Milton in Minecraft as part of the Block2Block: New Milton in Minecraft project. On Thursday 7 June they were invited to Microsoft UK Headquarters outside Reading to present their project to representatives from Microsoft.
The students were welcomed with a short tour of the building and presented their project to a selection of Microsoft staff. With funding from Heritage Lottery Fund and supported by Hampshire Cultural Trust and Forest Arts Centre, the Block 2 Block: New Milton in Minecraft project is creating a digital museum of New Milton's recent history using Minecraft (a form of digital Lego) and filling it with interviews, oral history, short films, photos, original songs and music which have been created and curated by groups of young people from across the town.
The students illustrated their presentation with visuals from their newly created Minecraft map. Into this map they are adding original film clips, songs, music, photos and oral history created by different groups of young people from across New Milton. This project has brought together the diverse talents of young musicians from Coda, skateboarders, film makers, song writers, actors, Minecraft devotees, secondary school students and historians to create an innovative project that has attracted the attention of Microsoft UK and BBC South. Here is a rendition of the Forest Arts Centre:
The young people explained their part in creating the Minecraft map, what they'd learned from the project and answered questions from Microsoft staff. The whole of this experience was filmed by BBC South, including an interviews with students as the BBC be creating an feature report on the New Milton Minecraft project when it is launched on 14 July for local news that week.
The students participated in a three way Skype conversation with specialist Minecraft mentors in Yorkshire and USA where they were able to share their project, answer questions and receive useful tips and advice. Later they were absorbed in coding and programming during a one hour training session with a facilitator using Minecraft Education.
Julia Bishop from Microsoft UK said, "The Arnewood School visit made everyone in Microsoft feel energised, as we experienced the excitement of the students visiting our offices. It was a delight to be part of their visit, their enthusiasm to be at Microsoft was infectious and we were incredibly impressed with their ability to articulate their project, and their Minecraft programming prowess. It was fascinating to hear how they have combined local history and film making into Minecraft, and how this project has inspired many of them to think of a career in technology."
Helen Farquharson the Minecraft Project Manager texted after the event "Thank you so much for a fantastic time at Microsoft. The students were bowled over by your reception, your interest in the project and the time you gave to them. The ICT staff have come away inspired with new ideas to integrate Minecraft Education into school. I expect this experience will ripple in their lives for some time to come."
The Block2Block: New Milton in Minecraft website will be launched at the Celebration Day at Forest Arts Centre from 2 - 5pm on Saturday 14th July 2018 with an exhibition, live music performances, film screenings and a special performance by EPIC theatre group.