Kids Get Moving and Thinking with Interactive Gaming at STEM Playbook Camp

Fifteen children crowded around a cart holding a 60-inch television set. Anthony, a 10 year-old, had been designated as the first player, and he could pick one other student to play Whack-a-Mole on the Nex Playground system.

“Pick me,” shouted Angela. “Please.” The others also asked to be chosen.

“Everyone will have a turn,” said Jessie Dann, one of the STEM Playbook camp counselors, who was teaching the students about reaction times using the Nex Playground.

“You’re learning to be quick with your physical reactions, which will also help you be stronger mentally,” Jessie said. “Quick physical reactions and mental agility share the same pathways in your brain.”

Anthony and Angela began waving their arms, trying to slap down the moles that kept popping up. The screen came alive with points - “30, 60, 120.”

After five minutes, Angela had amassed 4,030 points; Anthony had 4,120.

Two other students took their positions in front of the TV and were determined to beat the records set by Angela and Anthony.

“I’m really quick,” Angela said. 

“You are,” Jessie said. “And that quickness will help you both physically and mentally.”

Across the room, another group of 12 students were standing in line for their turn to play Connect Four on another large television equipped with a Nex Playground.

“This game is about strategy,” said Katie Grootegoed, founder of STEM Playbook. 

The four students waved their arms as the television recognized them and readied the game for their Connect Four gaming session.

Player 1 landed a yellow ball in the first row by using her arm to toss an imaginary ball at the television screen. The Nex Playground charted the movement and dropped a ball where she was aiming, column 1.

Three other players followed with their own shots, trying to block each other’s moves. Finally, Player 1 tossed the winning ball. 

“Way to go, everyone,” Katie shouted. “You really practiced great strategy here. What you just did here was you looked for patterns, you anticipated your opponents’ moves, and practiced problem-solving that will help you so much in your life, beyond just this game.”

The Nex Playground is a welcome addition to the STEM Playbook tool and toybox. “We believe in active learning - the kind where kids get up and really move. And the kind that isn’t boring.”

Katie explained that the whole philosophy of STEM Playbook is to use sports to teach students about STEM and to engage in career discovery.

Ready for another turn at the Nex Playground, Angela asked Jessie, “Has anyone beaten my record yet? I’m going to get to 5,000 this time!”