Makedo Makers » creative kids

Australian makers rise to the challenge at Melbourne’s Preshil primary school.

The Global Cardboard Challenge is an annual event presented by the Imagination Foundation to celebrate the role communities can play in fostering creativity in children. Kids of all ages are invited to build anything they can dream up using cardboard, recycled materials and their imagination. Then each year on October 10th, communities across the globe come together to play!

Watch the following video from a previous Cardboard Challenge event where Makedo joined Imagination Foundation for an action-packed day of creativity and play. The event held in Melbourne, Australia saw over 100 kids and their parents working together to build and play in a maze made from reclaimed cardboard and Makedo parts. Watch the playful creativity unfold before your eyes…

That year, Makedo sponsored a further 10 Makedo Maze events across seven countries for the Global Cardboard Challenge initiative. Mini makers showed us just how fun it can be to explore playful creativity with Makedo and cardboard. Lots and lots of cardboard!

Here are some highlights from events around the world, including Caine Monroy himself with Nirvan Mullick (Caine’s Arcade film maker) crawling through a cardboard maze in L.A.

A big thanks to all of the maze organisers and their happy makers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Salt Lake City and Cedar Rapids (USA), Toronto (Canada), Dorset (UK), Port Elliot and Melbourne (Australia), and Colombo (Sri Lanka).

Will you join the next Global Cardboard Challenge? It's still possible to jump on board, simply register your event to receive resources and support from Imagination Foundation.

Top up your Makedo collection before your next event at the Makedo Shop.

One lucky group of students at Preshil’s Arlington Junior Campus in Melbourne spent a whole semester exploring creativity with Makedo. Introduced as a part of the Elective Program, these weekly sessions focused on both individual and group projects across a range of themes.

The Preshil methodology seeks to foster making and creating, building and growing, and exploring passions by finding that special thing that each child loves. And the best part? Electives are run by parents and volunteers who can offer their own unique insights both to support teachers and contribute to the children’s experience of school.

Makedo inventor and Preshil parent Paul Justin was almost as excited as the students were to embark on a series of creative adventures in the classroom with Makedo. Over several months, Paul and the students worked together in a group to build a maze, explored the physical world with animated body tracings, fended off intergalactic invaders in Makedo Transformer costumes and pushed the boundaries with the next generation of architects in custom designed playhouses.

Upon returning to Makedo HQ from the final session, we asked Paul if he’d do it again. His reply?

    “Working with those kids really brought home what Makedo is all about – embracing playful creativity. It’s a special moment to see them engage with the potential of their own imagination. I can’t get enough of it.”