
A gaggle of McPherson School college students is taking their academic sport nationwide with the launch of a Kickstarter marketing campaign that can assist large-scale manufacturing. Funds raised will assist inventory the sport for retail and on-line gross sales, broadening its impression and creating extra alternatives for scholar involvement throughout campus.
College students within the spring 2025 Stewardship Seminar, taught by Dr. Dustin Wilgers, professor of biology, developed the sport EcoPyramid, which relies on a visible mannequin representing the construction of an ecosystem. The challenge lately obtained a $10,000 grant from the Kansas Division of Wildlife and Parks’ Chickadee Checkoff program to assist distribute the sport to each faculty district in Kansas. Preliminary assist got here from a McPherson School Horizon Fund grant for entrepreneurship.
The Kickstarter marketing campaign goals to lift funds to develop stock for retail gross sales and to contain college students from the school’s enterprise and accounting packages in managing the enterprise features of the challenge. College students from the graphic design and instructor teaching programs have already contributed to the sport’s design and created academic supplies primarily based on the sport that assist science actions in elementary and center faculty school rooms.
“Each a part of this sport has been and can proceed to be student-designed,” mentioned Wilgers. “The great a part of this sport is that it was meant to be academic for the gamers, however the course of has ended up being simply as impactful on the scholar creators’ faculty academic expertise.”
Impressed by nature, EcoPryamid is designed to be each academic and interesting. College students spent lots of of hours refining the wording, artwork ideas, and gameplay by means of testing at elementary colleges, summer time packages, and a gaming occasion.
Every sport set consists of 4 decks representing distinct ecosystems — Yellowstone, Prairie, Amazon, and Ocean. Gamers use their very own deck of playing cards to construct a trophic pyramid whereas strategically disrupting their opponents’ pyramids with distinctive motion playing cards. Every card options detailed graphics and enjoyable info in regards to the ecosystems.
The marketing campaign’s aim is to lift $2,300, with any extra funds used to provide extra decks for stock. Supporters can buy a boxed starter set of EcoPyramid by going to www.kickstarter.com/projects/dustinwilgers/ecopyramid. All pre-orders shall be fulfilled and shipped in early February. The marketing campaign runs by means of December 14.
1600 E. Euclid
McPherson, KS 67460
800.365.7402
© 2025 McPherson School. All Rights Reserved.
© 2023 McPherson School. All Rights Reserved.
