Using plastic trash (bottle caps, plastic bags, wrappers) that we have collected over the week before the workshop, students will learn the different types and variations of plastic waste that is currently in circulation. Students will learn how to use their plastic trash to create plastic creatures that will be part of a gallery showcase at the end of the workshop. Students will learn how to make a tote bag from a T-shirt that will be used as a collection case for their plastic waste. After choosing their creature, we will build out our creatures over the next 6 weeks. Students with current active Minecraft accounts are encouraged to build a section of the “Plastic Museum” in their worlds. For other students who do not have access to Minecraft, we will focus on literacy, research and presentation skills. These students will build out the written components of our hypothetical plastic museum. There will also be various guest speakers and artists who will be teaching us how to recycle and reuse our plastic waste for practical and artistic purposes. (Gary Duseuk from Precious Plastics NYC, Susan Champeny who is an artist from Hawaii, and fingers crossed, Benjamin Von Wong) We will use discussions, research, and activities in order to apply our knowledge to the creations that we choose to build. Your plastic creations will be a testament to ending the plastic manufacturing industry. We will have a final presentation and gallery showcase at the end of our 6 weeks together through Zoom and/or in person at a library in NYC.
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Students will learn about the history and creation of plastic, how plastic became popularly used, and how plastic pollution became a huge problem.
Students will learn about the different types of plastic, who creates plastic nowadays, and how to write a message to manufacturers with plastic in their products in order to convince these companies to stop producing more plastic while providing an alternative solution for these companies to use.
Students will learn about ways plastic has been reused creatively, which will be the introduction to precious plastics and how we can use precious plastics as inspiration for our plastic museum.
Students will spend this session journaling their ideal world. We will spend time in reflection and embark on a collective imagination portal.
Students will spend some time identifying some household items that they would like to change.
Students will review the 7 Different Types of Plastic covered in Week 1 in order to apply them to specific examples of plastic waste in each category.
Students will learn about the current organizations that are doing the work in the world. We will look at organizations to understand how other materials can be used instead of plastic.
Students will spend some time researching earth ships, and the Meow Wolf museum as we study the conversion process of the Meow Wolf and what makes this museum so different from other museums.
Students will learn about how plastic pollution is encouraged by restaurants, allowing them to see how the use of plastic containers, utensils, and packaging has caused the continued manufacturing of plastic.
Students will be introduced to artistic creations inspired by the use of plastic in the world.
Students will learn how plastic pollution is related to slaughterhouses, allowing them to understand how plastic pollution has contributed to other sustainability issues in the world such as war, poverty, homelessness, and slavery.
Student Presentations and Gallery showcase their creations!
Students will pick a land, air, and water animal and build a research-informed world sanctuary for their creatures of choice. Students will learn about ecosystems, habitats, and how we can create better designs for animals to thrive instead of zoos and aquariums. A series of documentaries, YouTube videos, books, and articles will be shared with the class as resource materials for their final presentations.
Students will learn about the history of zoos, the circus, and the positive and negative aspects of enclosed areas where animals are kept in captivity. What would a solution be instead of zoos and Aquariums?
Students will learn about the history of aquariums, SeaWorld and the positive and negative aspects of enclosed areas where animals are kept in captivity. What would a solution be instead of aquariums?
We will learn about animal testing in the cosmetics industry and build out our first sanctuary for our water-based friends.
Students will research ingredients of a food item from their school or in the grocery store. We will uncover the myth behind the Food Pyramid and start the build for our land animals.
Students will learn about the benefits of Alkaline Eating and the history of Doctor Sebi. Students should have their water sanctuaries completed.
Students will read and watch resource guides that present both arguments that are for and against veganism. Students will uncover their own opinions about what think and will design an arena that allows for both perspectives to co-exist.
Students will pick an animal that is extinct and create a sanctuary around their choice.
Students will pick a land animal that is facing extinction that a sanctuary will be created in honor of them. What makes these animals so special and how did they become extinct?
Students will pick an air animal that is facing extinction that a sanctuary will be created in honor of them. What makes these animals so special and how did they become extinct?
Students will pick a water animal that is facing extinction that a sanctuary will be created in honor of them. What makes these animals so special and how did they become extinct?
Students will spend this class finishing their builds, clarifying concepts, and helping each other come up with ideas if they need extra elements in their worlds. Students should begin thinking about how they would like to present their worlds in the following week.
Students will showcase their work to their friends and family. A 30-minute discussion about alternatives to zoos and aquariums will be held.
Learn about your heritage, history, and magical architecture! Students will dive into their personal cultural history while learning about how architecture has been impacted by heritage, philosophy, and religion. We will investigate the structural specificities as it pertains to one’s culture, hybrid or otherwise, and learn about different build ideas in Minecraft. By learning about one’s history, one will be able to create a world that is shaped by these artifacts. Students will also learn about food, magical and artistic practices associated with their cultural history. Students will also receive take-home recipe assignments to share with the class where we convert culturally-specific food items into vegan alternatives. Students will create the “best version” of their history as it currently stands using non-violent methodologies to create, collaborate and share aspects of their past with their classmates while learning about practices that have informed our current society.
Through our investigations of construction and architecture, students will be able to know the names and functionality of 5 parts of a house, castles, or other building that they are interested in creating.
From the research gathered, students are encouraged to re-create a historical moment in time that speaks to “The Ineffable”. Students are asked to write a reflective passage on the aesthetic impressions of that time period and its effect on modern society.
Students will pick a dish of their chosen culture and replace the ingredients with a vegan gluten-free alternative and discuss the traits of what “a more loving environment” feels and looks like. In Minecraft, students will grow a permaculture garden that supports a flourishing balanced ecosystem.
Bring the food you just made to a garden-themed potluck! Students are encouraged to make and bring the alternative vegan gluten-free dish to class. While building our virtual worlds, students are asked to share their impressions of existence and evolution while building a monument that commemorates an aspect of a cultural holiday they chose to explore.
Who is responsible for speakers? Who made the calculator? What about the electric kettle? Students are asked to find an invention created by someone either from their cultural heritage or who shares a similar ethnic lineage. Students are encouraged to build a spiritually-centered response to their observations.
Students will learn the basic fundamentals of the Farmers Almanac where Farmers used the study of astrology to guide their harvest rituals and seed schedule.
Where do people of similar cultures worship? Students will spend some time on Architectural research before creating their version in Minecraft. Students will find their birth chart and read excerpts from The Gene Keys by Richard Rudd.
Given the current advances in technology, students will create hybrid systems that allow for free public transportation. By investigating labor practices and energy renewal resources, a hypothetical solution to travel and accessibility will be discussed and shared while students build their solutions in Minecraft.
Students will explore historical landmarks of their culture and design a futuristic interpretation of those builds using advanced red-stone techniques. Students will be expected to teach a portion of this class.
From the last 10 weeks of discovery, research, and planning, students will spend this class crafting the most ideal home for themselves while incorporating aspects and Minecraft builds gained from the previous weeks.
Students will present their worlds as if they were hired by a galactic federation of wizards and will have to present their worlds as such. 20 minute Q&A session at the end where friends and family and inquire further into their creations.
Students will build a section of their creations from waste material. What will happen to all the plastic once it’s out of the ocean?
From a series of randomized writing assignments and theatrical improvisational exercises, students will write a story that changes the ending of a fairytale that takes place in a futuristic alternative world. Students will discover and create new characters that will serve as inspiration for a Minecraft World Build. Each class is both an expansion of their story that they will share with their classmates as well as the acquisition of new Minecraft build knowledge. Students play in Creative Mode.
Students will investigate a fairy tale of their choosing and based on, their character traits, develop a handful of characters whose world they will collectively build in multiplayer. Through research, discussion and free, associative writing, students will craft their protagonist, build a backstory and the preliminary structures for their characters in Minecraft. eg: frog and princess in a futuristic Dubai.
Drawing from a word bank exercise, students will craft a backstory for their antagonist. Students will study the natural waterfalls and incorporate the research into their stories while developing a story arch for their antagonist.
Every third class, students will be given a specific hiccup in their story that might alter their builds, narrative, and world entirely. The class is asked to work together to solve this life-threatening event.
Students will learn about the geology behind volcanoes while crafting points of conflict between their antagonist and protagonist. Playwriting and some acting are required. Students must be able to access and use google documents.
Students will recall a time when they experienced conflict. We will study some global conflicts and find hypothetical solutions to these scenarios. Using improv exercises of a two-person shared story, students will learn how to negotiate conditions that lead the characters towards a solution. Students will build a commemoration build to honor the conflict that has been resolved.
The world is under siege by the “Complicated Noise Monster” and now every protagonist needs to hide in a maze – but what maze? Who will make it? How will we communicate without sound? (This class is conducted in complete silence except for the instructor who will serve as “dungeon master”).
Students will create a non”random” character that might shift or drastically change the story arc so far. Who is this random character and what do they want? Students will learn about non-sequitors and read a few pages of “Waiting for Godot”.
Through a narrative examination of “Alice in Wonderland”, students will study narrative elements within the story that create “surprise elements”. Students can either pick a character from “Alice in Wonderland”, “Waiting for Godot” or another story of their choosing as additional characters to their current unfolding tale.
Students will be invited to create a mini-obstacle for each other that falls under our current understanding of “non-sequitors”. Students will also have time to work on their Minecraft builds and flesh out their stories.
Students will learn about the history of burritos, sushi, and Caribbean roti. Students will build a commemoration statue that speaks to their love for a specific type of food that they would like to incorporate into their story.
Students from group one will present and direct their stories to their classmates, friends and families. There will be a 20-minute Q+A session at the end.
The second group will present and direct their final presentations. There will be a 20-minute Q+A session at the end.
In partnership with Titties for Change, a Research Hub dedicated to ending plastic production through Utopian Ideas, Independent Thought and The Imagination, students will be asked to create from a space of brave curiosity. Drawing from the study of Permaculture, students will create a joint world through a Multiplayer Minecraft World Build in Survival Mode.
Students will reverse engineer tactics to create the perfect world based on their current understanding of what is not working in society and the world. Guided by our collective definition of Utopia, students will mind-map their ideas before translating them into their Minecraft worlds.
After reading Sustainable Revolution, students will create a permaculture map detailing their design concepts and what they want to see in their gardens. Students will begin building their Homestead designs in Minecraft.
By discussing how our food is currently delivered to us, where it is coming from, students will examine alternative methods of growing food that does not draw as heavily from Earth’s natural resources as our current method does. Students will build an automatic pumpkin farm as an example of a red-stone contraption that they will be able to use for other vegetable ideas.
Students will learn different water mechanics and will design and build a system that keeps water free from pollutants. They will incorporate their designs in their Minecraft permaculture farm as well as building a water catchment zone.
Video lessons will inform us of the techniques, methods, and design elements that go into creating a hydroponic wall system. We will re-create this in our Minecraft world. Using the permaculture flower, we will return to the foundations of what our world will look like, ensuring that we are incorporating the 7 different aspects of what this means.
Students will share their insight on what they value when we discuss community. How will interchanging parts connect? What current systems in our world deplete us and draw energy away from being happy? What are some of your observations about this?
Now that we have the basics down, how will the different sections of your Utopia interconnect? Railroads? Boating system? Maybe a treetop garden? Does this Utopia have any trash? How did we manage to not make any? What type of materials make up this world without the current pollutants like plastic and styrofoam? If money does not exist, how will people get their resources? We will continue our builds with these questions in mind. Students will learn how to make a light-up dance floor in creative and learn how to shuffle dance over Zoom.
Now that we have the basics in our Utopia land, we have infinite resources. Now that we have the basics covered, what do you think people will need to stay happy and content? Students will write a construction project challenge on a piece of paper. This challenge must include at least one element that we have built-in previous classes (Hydroponics, Permaculture food system, a cool water source).
Students will spend this class finishing their builds, clarifying concepts, and helping each other come up with ideas if they need extra elements in their worlds. Students should begin thinking about how they would like to present their worlds in weeks 11 and 12.
Students should spend this class writing their permaculture + utopia stories. With a focus on reverse-engineering the process, students will create a map for their presentations that will illustrate their creative and design processes.
We will spend this class presenting our Utopia. Students will walk us through their worlds, from who they are and what they care about into how their world unfolded.
We will spend this class presenting our Utopia. Students will walk us through their worlds, from who they are and what they care about into how their world unfolded.