Recently, the spirit of Caine’s Arcade went global.
The Global Cardboard Challenge was held on October 6 and proceeds from the day went to the Imagination Foundation. The foundation supports creativity and entrepreneurship in children around the world.
Caine Monroy is a nine-year-old boy who lives in a neighbourhood known as East L.A. in California.
His dad owns a used auto parts store.
In one section of the store, Caine built an elaborate arcade out of cardboard and other things he found.
He painstakingly built cardboard replicas of many games like Skee-Ball and miniature basketball and pinball. There is even a claw machine. The arcade includes displays for the prizes and even a security system.
However, because of where Caine’s dad’s shop is, no one visited the arcade or played in it. Week after week, Caine perfected his games and waited for someone to arrive but no one did. However, Caine was never discouraged. He even wore a shirt that said “Caine’s Arcade.”
Then one day, a man named Nirvan Mullick came to the auto parts shop to buy a doorhandle for his car. He noticed Caine’s Arcade. He asked Caine how much it was to play–for $2, said Caine, he could buy a Fun Pass that would give him 500 plays on any of the games.
Nirvan thought that was a great deal. He bought a Fun Pass. He was Caine’s first customer.
Nirvan loved the arcade. He thought Caine was a genius. And he asked Caine’s dad if he could make a short film about the arcade.
However, Caine had no customers. Nirvan came up with a brilliant idea. He put up a notice on Facebook telling people about the wonderful arcade and asking them to come by. Word spread, and before long hundreds of people had gathered to surprise Caine at his arcade–and play some great games.
When Caine showed up at the arcade and saw a crowd of people lined up to play the games, he was surprised. He thought it was a parade or something. And then he realized they were there for him, “And I was proud,” he said.
Everyone started chanting, “We came to play!” And that’s exactly what they did. They played all of Caine’s wonderful cardboard games.
Since then, Nirvan’s video about Caine’s Arcade (below) has had more than 3.2 million viewers. They started a charity called the Imagination Foundation, which recently held the Global Cardboard Challenge.
Kids around the world made things out of cardboard.
In Toronto, people gathered at the Wychwood Barns to play cardboard games.
More than $218,000 has been raised through the foundation. Some of the money will be used to help send Caine to college.
UPDATE, August 5, 2020: Caine Monroy is still into arcade games!
Watch the original video about Caine’s Arade:
Related links:
Caine’s Arcade website.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Caine used cardboard to create an entire arcade of games. What is the the most creative game you ever invented? Why was it so much fun?
Reading Prompt: Text Features
How do the YouTube movie and pictures included in today’s article help you understand who Caine is and what he accomplished?
Primary & Junior
Identify a variety of text features and explain how they help readers understand texts (OME, Reading: 2.3).
Intermediate
Identify a variety of text features and explain how they help communicate meaning (OME, Reading: 2.3).
Grammar Feature: Long Dash
The long dash is a punctuation mark that can be used in many different ways. A single long dash can: (1) to show emphasis, (2) to add information, (3) introduce a list of items, (4) after an interrupted statement.
Why do you think a long dash was used in the sentence below?
Word spread, and before long hundreds of people had gathered to surprise Caine at his arcade–and play some great games.
