A time travel project for Irish children using Minecraft

MindRising 2016 wants young people to develop digital stories about Ireland’s past and future

A Minecraft rendering of the GPO in Dublin
A Minecraft rendering of the GPO in Dublin

A new initiative is asking children to create their own stories of Ireland using the popular computer game Minecraft. MindRising 2016 wants young people up to the age of 14 to develop digital stories about Ireland’s past and future between 1916 and 2116.

For the competition, which runs until April, students can enter through schools, coding clubs and other organisations or as individuals, and they are encouraged to make and share a three-minute video that features past events or imagines the future.

“Minecraft can be used as an educational tool, and we think it will be an enabler to get kids interested in history and imagining what the next 100 years might bring,” says MindRising cofounder Alan Kelly. “Kids have great imaginations, so we can’t wait to see their stories.”

Claire O'Connell

Claire O'Connell

Claire O'Connell is a contributor to The Irish Times who writes about health, science and innovation