In a previous post, I shared links for drawing tutorials that my kids really enjoyed last summer. This next summer activity was a huge hit in our household; quite possibly our favorite! I considered saving it for last in this series, but I’m too excited to wait any longer to talk about it. I think it is one of the neatest hidden gems online – Imagineering in a Box on Khan Academy!!
Almost two years ago, the Disney Parks Blog announced a partnership between Walt Disney Imagineering and Khan Academy. Together, they developed an online course designed to give Disney enthusiasts the opportunity to step into the role of Imagineer and learn the intricacies involved in creating a theme park from start to finish. At the time the course was made available, we were in the thick of puppy training our sweet and handsome (and feisty and spunky!) Walt.
So I filed the program away in my mental list of future activities to do with the kiddos. The timing was finally perfect to give the course a try last summer. Now, I would be lying if I said the kids were immediately on board with doing school-like work during a vacation from school. So I asked them just to watch the introductory video for the lessons with me, with the promise that they could decide if they wanted to continue on afterward.
Well…they were hooked! That first video had us all so fired up (and totally ready to pack our bags for another Disney vacation), and my future Imagineer hopefuls were easily convinced that it would be worth every second of their time. A perfect blend of engaging videos and hands-on activities helped to guide the kids through the process of building a world, attractions, and characters for a theme park entirely of their own making. They were so inspired by the Disney Imagineers who led the video instruction. The kids loved listening to them share first-hand accounts of their experiences developing and bringing new lands and attractions to life in the Disney parks. In no time, my kids were busy brainstorming and tapping into their own imaginations as they happily completed each module in the course. And about a week later they proudly presented me with their thoughts and plans for a futuristic jungle theme park with underwater elements, a park themed around The Land of Stories book series, and an expansion for Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios.
It was so much fun from beginning to end! I’ve actually even heard chatter lately from my youngest about big plans to take the course again because he has new theme park ideas that he wants to flesh out. Our summer is sure to be extra magical whether he follows through with those plans or not because I have another Khan Academy course lined up for us – my latest discovery, Pixar in a Box. The countdown to summer vacation and animation lessons from Pixar artists is on! We can’t wait!!
