This past semester, three Chicago elementary-school students have been apprentices at the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), developing their own project in the CAVE2™ and learning what a career in computer science could be like. A story in the November 19, 2013 issue of UIC NEWS profiles how four EVL graduate students mentored these children, and helped them develop a virtual-reality video game based on Fruit Ninja. Each student designed and created virtual 3-D objects, including a house an airplane a chair a banana and a pizza. In the game, each player gets points for slashing his rival’s objects and loses points if he hits his own. The computer science grad students and middle schoolers were matched by Spark Chicago, an organization that places students from underserved areas into hands-on apprenticeships with volunteer mentors.

UIC NEWS story:
Middle-school kids create a virtual future in 3-D
by Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, UIC NEWS
November 19, 2013

EVL produced a video about the Spark experience:
EVL Graduates Mentor Spark Middle School Students 2013

This is the second year that EVL participated in the Spark program. To learn about EVL’s past effort, see:
Spark Student Mentored in Video Game Development at the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory

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