Minecraft Your Way to a Better City

It’s time to CRAFT a better City!

Right now, all New York City public school students in grades K–12 can be a part of our first-ever NYC Minecraft Education Challenge!

From now until June 16, 2020, City students can use Minecraft: Education Edition to design a public space for their neighborhood, community, borough, or city.

We challenge all NYC students to participate in this program—think of the public spaces we have today, and think of all the ways YOU could improve upon them. Consider local cultures and ecosystems as you flesh out your ideas, and then drop into Minecraft and see what designs you can come up with!

Getting Started

To participate in the Minecraft Education Challenge:

• Download Minecraft: Education Edition (Windows, Mac, and iPad versions available);

• Open Minecraft: Education Edition, and sign in with your DOE Student Account;

• Start a new world (use a template or biome world);

• Get crafting;

• Once you finish your space, use Flipgrid to create a one-minute video tour of your new space in Minecraft;

• Submit your video on Flipgrid; and then

• Celebrate a job well done!

If you borrowed an iPad from us this year, Minecraft: Education Edition should already be installed on your device—no downloading required!

Challenge Tips

• Do a little bit of research that can help you better understand how to plan and design a public space. Check out the Projects for Public Spaces website to learn more;

• Review the DOE’s Minecraft Education Challenge Grading Rubric (PDF) to see what we’re looking for out of each submission. (Other languages are available on our website)

• Mark the challenge deadline on your calendar: June 16, 2020!

For more information and tips, including how to play Minecraft: Education Edition with other classmates, check out our Minecraft Education Challenge page.

We can’t wait to see your designs! Good luck!

(Credit for banner image, “Kids embrace Minecraft,” by The People Speak. Used under Creative Commons license. Original can be found on Flickr.)