Iriarai 4th Elementary School marks its 95th anniversary this year, and on Saturday, November 14, it held its "Irishi Festival" in this milestone year. Following the "Wakuwaku Summer School" in August, this was our second visit to the school this year. This time, we ran a booth for the "Digital Chase Game," played in Minecraft.
Eleven rounds, changing every 15 minutes from 13:00. In many rounds, close to the full 15 children sat down at a laptop with a controller in hand. That day, the "Digital Chase Game" drew more than 150 children in total.
Can you escape a Minecraft school?
The venue was classroom 3-2 on the second floor. Players run through a school built in Minecraft without getting caught by the hunters. The world was one that children in our After-School Lab helped build and test.
Rounds started at five minutes each, but in the second half, as we got used to running the event, we ran more seven-minute rounds, and made the last round ten minutes.
Rounds changed every 15 minutes, with up to 15 players each. In many rounds, nearly every seat was filled, while parents watched their children's screens from behind. Children coming off the game told us it was "so much fun," and many lined up again to play more than once. The room was full of excitement to the very end, and even after it was over, everyone was clamoring, "One more time!"
The hunters: children from our After-School Lab
The hunters chasing the players were three children who attend our After-School Lab. All three go to schools other than Iriarai 4th Elementary, and include a junior high school student and an upper-grade elementary student. They joined the game from laptops at the front of the classroom, with two of the three playing hunter in each round and taking turns, through all eleven rounds.
The hunters played for real: in the best round six children escaped, while in another round no one survived. Children who escaped until time ran out received one item from a Minecraft Advent Calendar, and those who were caught still had fun drawing a bouncy-ball lottery.
A world you only see by volunteering
After playing hunter in turns through all eleven rounds, the three volunteers, not surprisingly, told us they were "so tired." But what came next were these words:
"It was a really valuable experience."
"I felt a kind of happiness I'd never felt before."
Children from another school ran from them for all they were worth, laughed, and lined up again for "one more time." Being able to help others clearly meant a great deal to them. All three said, eyes shining, "I want to do it again!"
There is a world you only come to see by volunteering. That day, these three saw it for themselves.
Behind the scenes: 17 laptops in one world
In each round, 17 laptops (15 players and 2 hunters) are in the same Minecraft world at the same time. To keep that running smoothly, Wi-Fi speed matters. The large device on the bench in the middle of the classroom in the top photo is a large Wi-Fi unit we brought in. It connects to a router that reaches the internet over 4G, the same mobile network that phones use.
Because school Wi-Fi cannot be used, we prepare our own connection like this for every outreach event.
Thank you
Our thanks to Iriarai 4th Elementary School, the PTA, and all the children and parents who joined us.
We also bring the Digital Chase Game to other school festivals and events, with up to 20 laptops. PTAs of elementary schools in Ota City, please get in touch. See our outreach events page for details.
Digital Kodomo BASE events will continue.
We would be grateful for your support through social media shares or donations.