JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One of the best-selling games is now being used as an educational tool.
The City of Jacksonville launched a citywide Build Challenge with Minecraft Education for students in Duval County.
The global sensation has over 300 million sales. It’s a game players can build a wide variety of structures using various blocks and create their own worlds.
“The New Jax City build challenge invites all students whether they attend public, private or charter schools or participating through non-profits to use Minecraft education to envision bold solutions for the future of Jacksonville,” Dr. Nadine Ebri said.
Ebri is the CEO of Ebri Education and a part of Minecraft Education.
The city unveiled on Monday a Minecraft world that included a model of downtown Jacksonville. It included realistic depictions of landmark buildings and city services. The world even allows users to interact with select city leaders.
“When I told my 11-year-old son that I was in the game, his eyebrows tooted up.” Ashantae Green, sustainability manager with the City of Jacksonville, said. “And he was like ‘Wait, you’re in the game? Okay, mom, you’re actually cool now.‘”
But there is a competition tied into it.
As students learn and explore the city, they are asked to build some of their own.
The Mission
Design a sustainable and resilient riverfront community hub that is:
- Publicly accessible
- Prepared for extreme heat, flooding, and hurricanes
- Focused on environmental stewardship and sustainability
It’s a chance for students to learn about and plan the future.
According to the City of Jacksonville, the program’s goals are to:
- Inspire Creativity & Innovation: Encourage students to reimagine Jacksonville’s future through game-based learning, gathering their input on the city’s development.
- Advance STEM & Urban Planning: Provide hands-on experience in infrastructure design, urban planning, and problem-solving to shape the city’s future.
- Strengthen Civic Engagement: Connect students, schools, and government through creative outreach, helping students explore city plans, projects & professional roles in various sectors.
- Develop 21st-Century Skills: Foster leadership, collaboration, digital literacy, problem-solving, and critical thinking in students.
- Celebrate Student Achievements: Honor student contributions with a high-profile competition and public recognition, showcasing their impact on the city.
“This is more than a game,” Mayor Donna Deegan said. “It is more than a competition.”
Jacksonville joins 25 other cities in nine different countries to participate in the Minecraft Education program.
And kids in Jacksonville are excited to get started.
“On a scale of one to 10,” Brayden Elliot, a 6th grader at Springfield Middle School, said. “I would say 11.”
Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier said if kids are excited to learn and grow, something is working.
“I will tell you that the one thing you always hear from me is when you touch a student’s curiosity, their focus becomes almost immediate,” Bernier said. “These kids are really curious.”
Students can work in teams of up to five students with two alternates. All students in Duval County are able to participate.
Judges will evaluate the first round submissions, which are due May 2 at noon.
The top-8 teams will advance to the Mayor’s Cup, which is a “final in-person esports-style challenge in front of city leaders and subject matter experts.”
“It’s been my experience that given the right tutelage and the right direction and a really fabulous educator,” Bernier said. “Our kids will far exceed what they think what people think in terms of their expectations.”
For more information on how to participate, visit www.jacksonville.gov/minecraft.
