The 2:1 scale replica of a high school serves as a virtual opportunity to explore the premises for potential applicants to the school, as well as a meeting place for current students and graduates
Four high school students in Ostrava, Czech Republic, found an entertaining way to deal with the current pandemic measures.
Instead of meeting in their classrooms in the real world, they can now use a precise replica of their school created in Minecraft.
Similarly to other countries in the world, the Czech Republic has introduced various tough measures to fight the spread of Covid-19.
This includes closure of restaurants, bars, and even schools. Since November 2020, only first and second-grade students can attend lessons. The rest is now held online.
While the separation can be harmful psychologically, the digital approach also offers a plethora of new opportunities.
What started as a fun way to beat boredom has resulted in a unique way to promote their school as well as to digitally meet with their peers.
“We started in September 2019 out of boredom. But we fully immersed into the project once the pandemic occurred in March 2020,” one of the creators, Michal Turoň, told the Czech national TV.
In total, the Minecraft model of their high school was created by four students from the 7th grade of the 8-year high school. Additionally, their teacher helped them to secure a server for the project.
“To fit the game’s environment, we had to build the model on a 2:1 scale. So the classrooms are twice as big in the game than in reality,” Turoň describes the difficulties they were facing.
To create the model, the students used their memory of all premises. Once it became obvious that it’s not enough, they asked their teachers to send them photos of their classrooms and offices.
Eventually, the creators managed to receive a school plan which helped them to finalize the project. It took them around 150 to 200 hours in total.
The school now uses the precise model to offer digital Open Day for potential applicants interested in studying at the school, as they cannot see the school themselves due to the covid-19 measures.
The creators equipped all important parts of the school with books, brochures and other material to describe the particular premises to the applicants. There are also arrows on the ground suggesting the best way to explore the school for the Open Day.
To highlight the mood of the pandemic, the students even placed sights on the visual corridors asking the people to wear face masks.
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