A viral video called “Caine’s Arcade” spurred the Soundview School third grade class to turn their Simple Machines unit into a lesson in fun and altruism.

The third grade class is wrapping up their study of simple machines and instead of writing a research paper to prove their knowledge they must prove their knowledge in a much more interactive manner.

Third-grade teacher, Ethan Benson, learned of “Caine’s Arcade,” the story of a boy who created an arcade entirely out of cardboard, from a former student. After Benson shared the video with his third grade class, the students enthusiastically encouraged Benson to let them create their own cardboard arcade in lieu of a research paper; Benson felt the experience of building an arcade would be a much more memorable learning experience than simply writing a paper.

“As a teacher at Soundview I try to always encourage creativity and integrated projects,” Benson said. “Creating an arcade that actually puts to use their newfound knowledge of simple machines is much more valuable and memorable than writing a paper.”

Using their knowledge of inclined planes they built a skeeball machine and the class was then divided into teams to build other games. The students have created a foos ball table, a claw machine, a car racing game, a tilt-a-ball maze, a slingshot zombie game and a competitive pachinco machine—all out of cardboard.

On Feb. 15, the third grade classroom will turn into an arcade open to the public. The arcade will be free to play, but visitors are asked to bring a can of food to donate to the Lynnwood Food Bank.

Soundview School is located at 6515 196th St. SW. in Lynnwood. For more information call 425-778-8572.