The YMCA of Orange County was recently selected to receive a $5,000 grant from Cox Charities, which awarded $60,000 to local organizations providing programs in K-12 STEM, Conservation and Sustainability, Digital Equity, and Military and Veterans.

The grant will go towards the YMCA OC’s Mario Kart Live Racing Program, which uses an AR (Augmented Reality) game on Nintendo Switch to teach students about physics, engineering, design, creative writing, and more.

“We are so grateful to Cox Charities for bringing attention to STEM education in our community and for supporting our Mario Kart Live Racing Program,” said Jeff McBride, President and CEO of YMCA OC. “The program offers students a unique opportunity to engage with a game they enjoy in a creative way that explores everything from physics and mathematics to teamwork and collaboration.”

The MarioKart Live Racing Program allows students to explore physics and mathematics by discussing how the Kart’s speed changes during acceleration and deceleration and how different surfaces (carpet, hardwood, etc.) affect the Kart’s friction and traction. Students apply geometry and spatial reasoning as they design tracks and discuss angles, curves, and straightaways, and measure track lengths, angles of turns, and distances between gates. The curriculum also offers an opportunity to be creative, as students are encouraged to create backstories for the racing characters and asked to write “Race Reports” as if they are sports journalists covering a real event. Art and design are involved both in track aesthetics and Kart customization. Students engage with digital literacy and augmented reality by playing the game itself, and analyzing how the Kart’s camera perspective affects gameplay and strategy. Finally, teamwork and collaboration are encouraged as students work together to design their elaborate tracks, and they must develop problem-solving skills when a Kart gets stuck or faces an obstacle, working together to troubleshoot and find solutions.