19 Sep 2016 at 13:53 | Published by: PatPenguin | Views: 15811 | News search

Not a Minigolf Robot (Yet)  (Photo by Flickr User: Sids1)

For many countries it's back to school time so we thought it appropriate to revisit some of the educational concepts where miniature golf is being used.

The first link below is less about miniature golf being used as the star of the lesson and more the lesson being applied to miniature golf. Children participated in a two week robotics program where the goal was to design robots that could play miniature golf. "I've never thought of minigolfing with a robot" was the sentiment from one of the kids and the "victory dance" the robot does after a "hole-in-one" rivals some of the best celebrations by miniature golf pros. As if robotics wasn't cool enough, asking kids to apply it to something else they love, minigolf, makes sure to get them excited for the lessons. Fortunately, as cool as the robots were it looks like we're still far away from Skynet building "Ace-a-nators" and winning all our tournaments.

Things can also get serious when looking at educational concepts. Students at Salem State University used miniature golf as a conduit for political discourse. Each hole designed focused on a current events issue with some of them being rather hot topics in the United States. Besides being a catalyst for the individual student designing the hole to think about a topic in a specific way, it gives people playing the course a change to mull over what that topic means to them and potentially see a different view point through a minigolf obstacle. A great quote in the article comes from Deborah Greel, the [Salem's] public art planner, who hopes "that mini-golf can foster healthy conversation at a time when the political climate lacks it."

It's great to think that in a time where people seemingly have a hard time coming to terms on political discourse, that the sport of miniature golf can help bridge that gap. It's not something that any other "recreational" activity gets to boast.

Do you know of more places where miniature golf is being used to open the minds of children and adults? Send an email to patsheridan@minigolfnews.com Image Source (used by license permission): https://www.flickr.com/photos/sids1/6199

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