Australian Students to Design National Parks via Minecraft

Ever wondered how your Minecraft creations would appear in the real world? Well, upper primary school students in Australia have recently been granted the opportunity to see just how their Minecraft environments would fare as national parks in Australia.

As part of a contest, the South Australian State Government has asked kids to make changes to an existing park or design their ideal national park using the ever-popular Minecraft game. Those in years four, five, six, and seven in Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills are eligible for the competition.

The winners will help guide national park upgrades worth around $10 million. That is a legacy that any child would be proud of, as they would be able to boast the feat to friends and family.

Quoting Sustainability, Environment, and Conservation Minister Ian Hunter's thoughts on the competition:

"The parks they design as part of this competition might include trails for bushwalking, mountain biking or horse riding, barbecue and picnic areas, public toilets, wheelchair accessible areas, campgrounds, scenic lookouts, adventure playgrounds, interpretive trails, places to launch canoes - or something completely different. Whatever they create on the screen needs to be able to be translated into the real world."

So, unfortunately, no floating boulders or upside down trees.

But talk about an upgrade from the classic drawing on the refrigerator, eh?