Sure: Kids love games. But what about making a game themselves? Local child-care nonprofit spilled milk social club offers Austin’s youth ages 8-15 an opportunity for DIY game design via the Cardboard Arcade, a free program where instructors lead kids through designing, constructing, and operating their own carnival and arcade-style games.
Opened in 2012 with an emphasis on unstructured play, SMSC has run a version of this recycled game design workshop since 2018 through their summer camp session OPERATION: Fabrication. However, after getting nonprofit designation in early 2024, co-founder and executive director Ali Epperson says they’ve been working to make their programming even more accessible to young Austinites. This will be the SMSC’s second program open to all of Austin’s youth, with the first being the spilled milk song club where kids participated in songwriting and recording.
The Cardboard Arcade program consists of four workshops that run Oct. 4, 11, 18, and 25 from 10am-2pm at SMSC’s Cherrywood locale. At the end of the workshop run, all Austinites will be able to come play the kiddo-designed contraptions during the Austin Studio Tour on Nov. 8. According to Epperson, previous arcades have included more than just the standard Galaga cabinet clones. She counts among her favorites two different Dance Dance-style games “controlled by someone moving arrows and other cues” as well as “a full-sized photo booth where the operators drew pictures of their patrons in real time.”
In Epperson’s estimation, what draws kids into experiences like the Cardboard Arcade is being able to control their own environment – as well as participate meaningfully in a community. “Embedded in our ethos here at spilled milk is a desire to give back to kids the kind of experiences we had growing up,” she explains, “where we were able to create and play in our own worlds with relatively little intervention or direction from grown-ups.” So far, she says, the kids have responded “beautifully, with enthusiasm, curiosity, cooperation, and genuine engagement.”
Sign-ups are currently open, with the caveat that kids should attend all scheduled workshops to get the full experience. While donations aren’t required, Epperson mentions that these “community education programs” are funded through “grassroots, individual contributions.” Should you be interested in helping SMSC keep Austin’s young gamers sufficiently engaged in reuse-based recreation, check out their support page at nousecrying.com/support-spilled-milk.
“We’re working hard to be in a place where we can provide these community programs on a regular basis,” says Epperson, “because we believe that all kids deserve access to high-quality, unique, and engaging learning opportunities.”
The Cardboard Arcade
Oct. 4, 11, 18, and 25, spilled milk social club (3804 Cherrywood Road)
