Students from West Hartford’s Renbrook School partnered with Hartford’s Jumoke Academy, and were inspired by filmmaker Nirvan Mullick as they created arcade games for the National Cardboard Challenge.

Submitted by Stacy Routhier, Renbrook School

Nirvan Mullick smiles with the arcade fun pass from his film “Caine’s Arcade” with Betsy Flynn, Lower School learning specialist at Renbrook School. Submitted photo

Award-winning filmmaker Nirvan Mullick speaks around the world about the critical need to foster creativity, the power of storytelling, and the potential of every moment to have an impact. He spent the day at Renbrook School on Thursday, Oct. 26 cheering kids on from Renbrook and partnering school Jumoke Academy as they built arcade games out of cardboard for the National Cardboard Challenge.

“For three years, Renbrook has taken part in the Global Cardboard Challenge. Children develop confidence and resourcefulness as they learn from others, they learn to think with their hands, and they learn persistence-they don’t give up easily. Witnessing the joy, excitement, and camaraderie as the children created their cardboard structures was thrilling. We were beyond excited to welcome the man who started it all, Nirvan Mullick, to our campus and we are grateful to Berkshire Bank for funding the first of a 3-year Maker Forum. Beginning this year and for the next two, Renbrook will host a leader in the maker movement,” says Betsy Flynn, Lower School learning specialist at Renbrook School.

Nirvan’s short film Caine’s Arcade became a viral phenomenon in 2012, receiving over 10 million views, and raising a $240,000 Scholarship fund for a 9-year-old boy. Building on this momentum, Nirvan launched the Imagination Foundation, a non­-profit founded to foster creativity and entrepreneurship in kids worldwide. Since 2012, the Imagination Foundation’s Global Cardboard Challenge has engaged over 400,000 kids in 60 countries in creative play and STEAM, launched the first national campaign to bring early STEAM education to Pre­-K kids, and was named a Champion of the Ashoka/Lego Foundation Re­Imagine Learning Challenge. With over 120 “Imagination Chapters” in 14 countries, the impact continues to grow.

Nirvan serves on the boards of Imagination Foundation and CicLAvia, and has received the Dan Eldon Creative Activist Award and the Innovation in Action award. He is currently developing a scripted series with HBO, and directing The Lawnchair Pilot, a feature­length documentary about Larry Walters, the 1982 lawnchair balloonist. Nirvan speaks around the world about the critical need to foster creativity, the power of storytelling, and the potential of every moment to have an impact.

Find @nirvan on twitter and facebook.

Renbrook’s next open house is Sunday, November 5th at 1 p.m. Register at www.renbrook.org/fallopenhouse.

Creating for National Cardboard Challenge. Submitted photo