Minecraft Camp
Minecraft Programs at Vision Tech
In our Minecraft courses, students learn STEM skills while exploring Minecraft game design process. Our Minecraft courses offer unparalleled opportunities to learn coding, video game design, and even server technology by harvesting the popularity of the Minecraft game to its full extent. In Minecraft, 3D game design camp kids use their creativity and imagination to build game levels and take on the roles of engineers to build massive Redstone structures. Our Minecraft modding camp lets kids & teen learn to mod Minecraft and develop their Java programming skills by designing new game design elements into their Minecraft game. At our Adventures in Minecraft camp, kids explore Minecraft game design concepts by creating their own levels, maps, structures, and design them for others to explore. In Minecraft server setup, campers learn to build and design their own private Minecraft server and learn game design skills at the same time.
Minecraft 3D Game Design
Genre: Game Design | Ages: 10-13
Hone your skills at level design in this Minecraft camp. Create incredible buildings, cities, and worlds within Minecraft and tie them all together with mods, skins, characters, and stories.
Adventures in Minecraft
Genre: Game Design | Ages: 7-10
Join Vision Tech's Adventures in Minecraft camp to explore the creative and building aspects of the world of Minecraft. Use your creativity and imagination to create maps complete with amazing cities and caverns for your friends to explore.
Minecraft Modpack Development
Genre: Minecraft | Ages: 10-13
If you think Minecraft is a fun game to play, then join this camp to take the Minecraft engine to its limit. Mixing your favorite Minecraft mods to create a customized playing experience by adding advanced weaponry, magic, and electricity.
Minecraft Modding Camp
Genre: Minecraft | Ages: 10-13
Using Java, the programming language that built Minecraft, code your own weapons, enchantments, textures, and mobs. Learn how to reverse engineer and decompile the game of Minecraft in order to add your own flair to the game! No prior Java programming experience required.
Minecraft Server Setup
Genre: Minecraft | Ages: 10-13
Minecraft is a great game, but it is even better when you make all the rules! Design a secure, safe, and private server, complete with an epic lobby, castles, airships, and anything you want in your Minecraft server!
What is Minecraft?
Minecraft is a sandbox video game created by Markus Persson, better known as “Notch”, and published by Mojang, Inc. Minecraft is a very different game from other video games because each player can customize the way they play the game, and it can be customized greatly by modifying its code in Java, or “modding”. There are multiple versions of Minecraft, for PC’s, mobile phones, and consoles. At home, players play a general game of Minecraft, where they dig and mine for resources, craft new blocks and structures to survive against hostile monsters, hunger, and other elements for suvival. Players can also create advanced structures by automating their work using Redstone, a simple circuitry mechanism.
Minecraft is the ultimate game to teach kids creativity, coding and programming skills, design, and video games in general. It is a great educational tool which kids find exciting and fun, while at the same time it allows students to get more engaged in educational activities and STEM fields, while they program, develop, or level design in Minecraft.
About Minecraft Summer Camps
In the world of Minecraft, players engage in a “sandbox world”, a world where there is no defined “story” or defined place for players to go. Instead, players simply explore the world around them, and build structures to protect against monsters, or can create wonderful structures as proof of their ability. In Vision Tech Minecraft camp we take the game of Minecraft a step further by making it an educational tool.
Kids learn computer programming by building entirely new game assets into the game. In Minecraft Server Set up camp students set up a Minecraft cloud server and learn how router and modems work. Minecraft can also be customized by changing the Java code, allowing for unique modifications to the core game itself. This makes Minecraft an ideal platform for a learning experience — whether it is learning video game design by creating levels, modding the game in our Minecraft Modding camp, or setting up a safe Minecraft Server!
What is taught at Minecraft Camp?
The objective of Minecraft game is simple. The player can practically build anything; from elaborate architecture masterpieces to engineering marvels. Despite being a very fun game Minecraft is well suited for learning purposes because it’s a game based on building things.
Minecraft teaches creativity and real world skills. While playing Minecraft, kids dream of having new custom items, recipe and custom blocks. When kids want to modify the game, they must change or write new code to modify the game. Thus, Minecraft-based modification teaches kids how to code using Java.
In our Minecraft camps, we make sure to have specific learning objectives in mind. Each Minecraft camp has its own learning objective and kids can easily take multiple camps and learn new skills this summer. At Vision Tech Minecraft summer camps, Minecraft is used as a learning platform for many important skills, such as coding, engineering, critical thinking, and project management.
In beginner Minecraft camps such as Adventures in Minecraft or 3D Game Design with Minecraft, kids learn game design concepts such as level design, storyboarding, objectives, and technical skills such as scripting, redstone circuits, proficiency with software tools, and navigating Minecraft’s file structure.
In advanced Minecraft camps, kids learn to code by building mods, or “modding” the code of Minecraft to create new items, weapons, monsters, and biomes. In our Minecraft server setup camp, kids set up their own private Minecraft server during the summer, and learn to build their own lobby, build minigames, gaining skills such as managing server technologies, remote connections, and security. In all Minecraft camps, kids work on their own custom-built PCs with small class sizes and instructors who themselves love playing Minecraft.
FAQ
What is Minecraft?
Minecraft is a video game with no defined story or place for players to go. Instead, players simply explore the world around them and are free to engage in creating structures, maps, fighting enemies, or any other goal the player sets for themselves. This makes it naturally suited for use as a learning platform, as lessons in game design, electronics, and programming lend themselves to this environment.
Can Minecraft be played on a Mac?
Minecraft is a cross-platform game and as such works on Windows computers, Mac computers, and Linux computers. However, while Minecraft does have a Pocket edition for mobile phones, most creations made at Minecraft camp are only compatible with the Mac/PC/Linux version of Minecraft, not the Pocket edition or the version of Minecraft made for consoles such as the Xbox or Playstation.
Why should my child go to Minecraft camps?
Minecraft, in addition to being a fantastically fun game for students to play, offers students a great opportunity to learn a variety of subjects they might not otherwise – including programming, game design, & electronics. Through Minecraft, students are easily motivated to learn concepts such as Java programming and electrical engineering – concepts that they may not otherwise be exposed to until high school. At Minecraft camp, we motivate students to go on exploring technology using a format that is guaranteed to captivate their interest and keep them focused.
Do kids need to bring their own Minecraft account to Vision Tech?
Students do not require a Minecraft account, though they may choose to use their own if they have one. For students who do not possess a Minecraft account, a Vision Tech Minecraft account will be provided for the duration of the camp. Students who wish to use their own account must bring their username and password to camp.
My child has never played Minecraft? What Minecraft camp is appropriate for my child?
For a beginner, either 3D Game Design with Minecraft, Minecraft Server Setup or Adventures in Minecraft are appropriate for a first-time Minecraft player. Our Minecraft Modding with Java & Forge camp and Minecraft Modpack Development camp assume that students are familiar with how to play Minecraft.
Will children be learning or playing at Minecraft camps?
Vision Tech uses Minecraft as a learning tool, not just a game. In Vision Tech Camps, as in all of our tech camps, kids have specific learning goals they must meet every day. At minecraft camp, we focus on learning objectives such as learning a new type of circuit, building a certain type of mod, or designing a game level. On the first day of camp, students are made aware that they have specific learning goals, and must actively engage in learning goals when the teacher is teaching.
What is Minecraft Modding?
Minecraft Modding is the process of creating a Minecraft mod – a “modification” to the game, made by creating Java code designed to extend the game of Minecraft with things like new items, new weapons, armor, monsters, and more! By creating mods, students are learning Java programming as well as game design itself, by seeing how to not only create these mods, but to see how these affect the gameplay of Minecraft.
What is a Minecraft Modpack?
A Minecraft modpack is a collection of multiple mods – often including some made by the creator of the modpack, and others made by other mod creators. A modpack is designed to combine these mods into a single, unified experience that usually revolves around one or more themes, such as magic, technology, or space. By building a modpack, students learn both about the game design of balancing mods, as well as the technical details of putting multiple mods together using code.
Minecraft Resources
- An Introduction to Minecraft
- Click here to see some tutorials on how to play Minecraft for new players
- Click here to read about the potential of Minecraft for education
Add Vision Tech Camps, The best-reviewed summer computer camp & STEM summer program to your program, camp, or classes today!