Powder Keg: Spring 2018

Image of middle-school students surrounding a Kendall student as he explains his work on the Powder Keg card game.
Image of middle-school students surrounding a Kendall student as he explains his work on the Powder Keg card game.

Project Overview

Powder Keg is a card game that will teach student-players about the American revolutionary war. KCAD student's are illustrating the cards and the GRPS Museum School 7th graders are performing research on the characters and events. This report covers a visit to KCAD by the GRPS students to review the illustrations.

Image of a group of middle school students surrounding a computer screen that a Kendall student is working on. The middle-schoolers are looking intently at the project.

Room and Procedure Description:

Kendall College of Art and Design. 7th Floor, Room 709. Brightly lit. KCAD Students presenting Revolutionary War Game card designs on Wacom Cintiqs to 7th grade students and their teachers.

Image of middle-school students surrounding a Kendall student as she works on the Powder Keg card game. The Kendall student appears to be explaining her work.

Patterns from observed behavior:

  • “Wow! Cool.” (Repeated student response after initially walking into the room and after viewing character designs.)
  • Genuine appreciation for the history and the art - regularly heard student saying they liked the art or telling an artist that their work was, “So good.”
A middle school student is drawing on the Cintiq tablet for herself. There are other middle-schoolers as well as a Kendall student and instructor surrounding her as she draws. Everyone in the image is smiling.
A middle school student is drawing on the Cintiq tablet for herself.
  • Wanted to draw on our Cintiqs
  • Students were engaged and respectful of whoever was speaking to the group and were quiet while listening
  • Students, when allowed to wander freely, were mostly hesitant to talk to artists and would just observe unless spoken to
  • Students responded positively to the most “action” in the cards
Image of middle-school students surrounding a Kendall student as she works on the Powder Keg card game. The Kendall student appears to be explaining her work.

Patterns from interviews:

  • Students were excited to work on the project but did not yet have much knowledge on the history- they could remember certain names and battles, but not specific events or noteworthy actions.
Image of middle-school students surrounding a Kendall student as she works on the Powder Keg card game. The Kendall student appears to be explaining his work.
  • Wanted to talk more about the art rather than history content connected to it
  • Students were particularly interested in the Digital Art program and how it worked. They were allowed to test the Cintiq tablets for short intervals.
  • Roughly 40% of the students said that they were interested in Art as a career, or had parents in an artistic occupation. Some were already familiar with Wacom tablets or had seen people use them before.
Image of middle-school students surrounding a Kendall student as she works on the Powder Keg card game.