Our students returned from winter break last week, but instead of simply heading back into the
classroom, they spent the week engaged in STEAM-filled fun. Design Daze, developed by Karen Davis, our Director
of Innovation and Learning, was inspired by Caine’s Arcade and the international movement that followed. Davis
explained, “Caine's Arcade was created by a young boy in East Los Angeles who had to spend his Saturdays at his
dad's auto parts store, so he started building arcade games out of cardboard to pass the time. A filmmaker
stumbled into the auto parts store, saw Caine's cardboard creations, and made a short film about him, which then
went viral—and here we all are.”
We kicked off our own version of the viral movement with a deeper look at the design process. Our K-8
students had to brainstorm ideas, analyze the tasks and design steps to take, collaborate with their
teammates—including the need to compromise when conflicts arose, make a materials list and an initial drawing
of their chosen design, iterate their prototypes and problem solve along the way. Once done, students were
challenged to consider how they could “level up” their designs and take them a step further. The students had a
blast! But, most importantly, they were engaged in learning important skills all week long.
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Davis commented on the brain science behind infusing fun into education, “Orchestrating activities to
incorporate fun during the school day is a deliberate way to increase positive emotions, which lowers stress, and
which brain science will tell you automatically increases engagement and learning. Developing a challenging
activity in a fun way combines rigor and joy, especially when there are constrained choices for students, so they
feel they have a voice in what's being created.” In terms of the final arcade games the students created, they were
as diverse as the students themselves. From miniature golf, to Skee-Ball, to BattleBots, there were tried and true
arcade games as well as many unconventional ones.
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Design Daze culminated in a Final Showcase on Friday, January 6 where all staff and students came
together to play the arcade games that had been created. Seeing the School joined together in merriment, the
creativity at play, and the smiles on everyone’s faces made for the perfect end to an already very exciting week. At
the end of the week Davis stated, “My greatest surprise was how easily the students embraced the challenge and
the joy. And by leaving it ungraded, with no end of the week competition or awards, it was just fun for fun's sake.”
STEAM projects like these speak to the heart of our school and its mission. They allow for interactive
creativity and problem solving, the blending of traditional disciplines which is more in line with the way the real-
world works, and student-centered exploration and inquiry—all ideas at the center of what we hope to instill in
every St. Anne’s School student. This year’s Design Daze made a lasting impression on the entire school, and we
are highly anticipating next year’s iteration.
