Meet this year’s magnificent Minecraft winners

By grespa on November 6, 2024

The challenge in this year’s INTERFACE Student Minecraft Competition was to create a sustainable and biodiverse marine habitat and, once again, students proved more than up to the task. ‘Brilliant, ‘Absolutely amazing’ and ‘So much imagination and creativity’, were among the judges’ comments.

Thanks to everyone who entered. Your creations really were awesome and judging was tough.

Congratulations to this year’s winners:

Primary (Years 1-6)

Winner: Mana Moana: Stewart Island Habitat, Loki Che, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School, Epsom, Auckland
Second: Hatch Sealife, Harlan Bracefield and Jack McLean, Lynmore School, Rotorua
Third: Harmonious Waters, Makenna van der Heyden, Otonga Road School, Rotorua

Intermediate (Years 7-8)

Winner: Monty’s Magnificent Marine Reserve, Monty Christodoulou, Te Kura Correspondence School
Second: KPKP: Kina Prevention, Kelp Protection, Harry Easton, Edwin Acland and Lachlan Severinsen, Nelson Intermediate School
Third: Isabella’s Idyllic Marine Sanctuary, Isabella Christodoulou, Te Kura Correspondence School

Secondary (Years 9+)

Winner: Minecraft Ring of Fire, Jaimee Mobberley, Izyah Witinitara, Tyler Bewley and Jackson Bewley, Wairarapa College, Masterton
Second: The World Around Us, Orlando Mende and Leo Miyake, Rathkeale College, Masterton
Third: Tropical Escape, Emma Young, Aliyah Alchin, Ava Port, and Melinda Harpur, Te Awamutu College

Judges

A big ‘thank you’ to this year’s judges: Alex Webb, Perya Short and Rika Milne (Marine Stewardship Council), Amy Stevens, Rachel Haydon and Karlie Lett (National Aquarium), Ken Millwood (Hamilton Zoo), Charles Wilson (Wellington Zoo), Sarah Hogan (Orana Wildlife Park), Shaun Horan (Willowbank Wildlife Reserve) and Greg Adams (INTERFACE Magazine).

Prizes

There were some awesome prizes for this year’s winners and runners-up, provided by our competition supporters, including: Virtual Penguin Encounters (National Aquarium), Virtual Education Sessions (Auckland Zoo), Hamilton Zoo Family Passes, Animal Tracking Bracelets (Orana Wildlife Park), and Multi-Cable Chargers (Willowbank Wildlife Reserve).