On Oct. 10 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., there will be a unique addition to Grand Valley State University’s Allendale Campus: a student-built cardboard arcade on the Kirkhof lawn.

With the help of a few faculty members, GVSU students have been working hard on building an entire arcade, complete with tickets and prizes, to raise money for charity.

On Friday, everyone on campus is encouraged to come join in on the fun. Tickets for the event are $2 and all proceeds will go to the Imagination Foundation, a worldwide charity that is dedicated to promoting play for children across the globe.

Held twice a year at GVSU, the Global Cardboard Challenge captured its inspiration from Caine’s Arcade, an arcade that a 9-year-old boy from California made out of cardboard by himself. A filmmaker visited the arcade and was inspired to make a short film; the video went viral.

Suddenly, Caine’s Arcade had hourlong lines of people waiting to play and thousands of people donating to the project fund online. From this, the Imagination Foundation was established to help young child entrepreneurs achieve their dreams, just as Caine did, and promote healthy play and learning among children.

“(My husband and I) saw the video and thought it was a really cool idea,” said Elizabeth Kilbourne, a professor in the Liberal Studies Department. “We thought, we should try that in our classes…It turned out to be a perfect project.”

Students from the Movement Science 100 and Liberal Studies 310 classes have teamed up to work on the arcade. The classes are taught by John Kilbourne and Elizabeth Kilbourne, respectively.

Movement 100 is a foundations class that is in part about play and play theory, while Liberal Studies 310 is a course on creativity, creating a perfect mix of practical learning, application and fun.

“You can talk about (play) all you want,”John Kilbourne said. “Unless you’re actually doing it, you’re not really learning.”

Students, faculty and staff are all invited to join in on the fun, as well as kids from local schools and the Children’s Enrichment Center.

Attendants of the event can buy a ‘fun pass’ with a $2 donation and will receive unlimited play time. As they are playing games, they will receive tickets based on how well they are doing – just like in a regular arcade. Students can then trade in these tickets for small prizes like candy, but most of the focus is on having fun.

“There’s a certain magic and possibility of opportunity that happens when you’re playing,” Elizabeth Kilbourne said.

Of the 30 games that students are invited to play, there will be Plinko-type games, hockey and golf among many more. In the past, there have been car races and even Dance Dance Revolution.

“Play is so important when it comes to enhancing creativity, working together and resolving conflicts,” John Kilbourne said. “It’s for a really good cause. (It also) comes at a good time of the year – students can get a break from the rigors of their books – and it’s really fun to see them collaborating.”

Both professors agree that even though the Imagination Foundation benefits children, everyone can take part in the exciting world of imagining and creating with other people.

Weather permitting, the Global Cardboard Challenge will be held on the lawn outside of Kirkhof; otherwise the event will move inside Kirkhof.

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