Two Ross Glen students won awards for their city planning in Minecraft. Adrian St.Onge/CHAT News

By Adrian St.Onge

‘It’s really fun’: Medicine Hat students win city innovation awards using Minecraft

Jun 24, 2024 | 4:18 PM

The future of city planning in Medicine Hat was celebrated Monday as two Ross Glen students were given awards for their real-world application of city innovations in the video game Minecraft.

Grade 5 students were asked to build an apartment complex while Grade 4 students were asked to build an assisted living facility using plots of land on Second Street.

All that hard work payed off as awards were presented to Quinn Wolfer and Rayna Trabish, students who teachers say really thought about the needs of the community when working on the project.

Teacher Dave Van Leeuwen said that picking two winners was a tough decision, but added that Wolfer and Trabish really focused on accessibility.

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“The really big thing is that they thought about making sure that it was inclusive to all residents. They made sure that it had things like accessibility towards the door. They made sure that residents had things that they needed,” Van Leeuwen said.

Students were using the game earlier this spring to work within real life parameters and resources, having to create apartment buildings and assisted living facilites on current empty plots near Second Street.

Wolfer, who won for her apartment building design aimed at providing accessible housing for the community, said she had fun while learning and said that her classmates feel the same way.

“It’s really fun. You don’t have to do schoolwork, you can just play Minecraft,” Wolfer said.

Trabish, who won for her design of an assisted living facility said that she put a lot of importance in a library and a staff parking lot, but that her teacher made learning for the project easy.

“I learned that it was fun, it’s not just for school work and it can be fun because Mr. Tschritter [teacher] makes everything fun.”

Van Leeuwen said that it’s encouraging to see young engineers in the making.

“It’s incredible. When you give them a project like this, that is exciting, that is a tool that they’re already quite comfortable with when it comes to Minecraft. I mean, they just picked it up and went with it,” Van Leeuwen said.

“I think it’s incredibly encouraging. I think we saw that the kids are thoughtful in their designs and that they can do incredible things.”

After the awards were presented, students were given a tour of the city’s planning facility and plans are in place to consider other locations within the city for the coming school year.