The 2012 short film Caine’s Arcade is the true story of 9-year-old Caine Monroy and the cardboard games arcade he created on the property of his father’s Los Angeles auto-parts shop. Caine pours his heart into the project, using his imagination to build games the public can play. But he is saddened when he gets no customers, due to the shop’s out-of-the-way location.
When a local filmmaker visits the shop to buy a door handle for his car, however, he sees the arcade and takes action to prove Caine’s efforts were not in vain.
Connaught Street School teacher Kristen Nixon knew her Grade 5 students were creative. When she heard about Caine’s Arcade, she knew she had the perfect project in which to funnel their creative energies, while also teaching them about both basic machines and service to others.
On Jan. 30 and 31, Nixon’s Grade 5 class hosted their very own Caine’s Arcade for fellow Connaught students. Students from throughout the school came to play arcade games Nixon’s students built from cardboard.
“My group really likes hands-on stuff, and they just show their work better by doing,” she said. “We thought relating the simple-machines unit to building an arcade would be something they would really like.”
The students spent the last three weeks building games of soccer, mini golf, basketball, ping pong roulette, and more, with materials they either brought from home, or that their parents brought to the school for the project. They even issued tickets to fellow students to play the games—like a real arcade.
In addition to learning about simple machines and applying their creativity, students also learned the value of persistence.
“They saw that they can make anything,” Nixon said. “And you have to be there to make sure they know that even if it’s not working, we can change it and make it work a different way.”
That lesson was not lost on student Mohamad Abdul.
“It was hard but, in the end, it was worth it, said Abdul who built “Mohamad’s Soccer Game” for the arcade. The Real Madrid super fan built the game with his friends and described the whole process as “fun.”
Student Lilly Leblanc said the project “taught us about never giving up on your project, and helping others have fun.”
“If something didn’t work, they fixed it or they altered it. And that’s part of the simple-machines unit,” Nixon said. “You make a prediction then change it, observing what’s not working. It’s a cool process.”
In addition to Caine’s Arcade, students watched other maker videos throughout the build process to get more ideas for their games, she said.
Students learned important lessons with this project. But to them, the fun was paramount.
“I like building and making and having fun,” said student Thiago Ace Fernandez, “and [other] people having fun playing, too.”
