I recently judged an event at a local school district called the Cardboard Challenge, inspired by Caine’s Arcade, about a little boy who built an arcade made from cardboard. Essentially, kids from schools in the district, of all ages, create and build anything they dream up from recycled materials.
I knew it was going to be a great event and that there would be lots of creative ideas on display. And I knew that I’d be able to tell how much parental help would be had on a particular project. What I didn’t expect was how engaged the kids were. I judged the middle school projects and there were plenty of kids who loved talking about their projects. Some were amazing sales people who made me immediately want to buy into their products, and some were true designers and tech geeks who did very well at giving clarity to their vision. I really got sucked in, and was envious of their selling skills. 
Judging wasn’t easy because there were so many great ideas and so many not-as-great ideas that were executed better. My personal favorite was a girl who did an Expectation vs Reality piece. I was not only struck by the vision, but by my fascination with how an idea played out in a child’s brain. Her concept was that people have an expectation of how the world should be, represented on the left side of the box by beautiful trees and creatures, clean blue water, clouds in the sky…a green paradise. Then the right side of the box represented reality, which had polluted water, no creatures, little war figurines, spiders, no clouds…just ugly. She described it as eloquently as a little kid could and was really passionate about it. When asked what her hopes were to turn things around, she said “We need to stop wars and stop polluting the water.”
Another favorite was a stand-up horse that gave rides. 
These girls stacked folded cardboard and cut out a sturdy horse that not only could be stood up, but could also give rides to kids. It was completely original in that they used folded cardboard, and it was fun seeing them moving it around while little kids rode on top.
Other creations were favorite characters from video games and movies, amusement parks, music instruments, games, robots, cars, trucks, concession stands, houses, space shuttles and aircraft carriers, monsters and aliens and much more. 
It was such a pleasurable experience and I like the idea of checking in with kids these days to see what ideas they can cook up. I’d recommend seeking out inspiring events like the Cardboard Challenge or the Robotic or Lego events and volunteer so you too can witness the brains that may just save the planet!
