In attendance this year was Gustavo Zacarias of San Antonio. Zacarias is one of the winners of the National STEM Video Game Challenge, an annual competition presented by the Joan Ganz Center at Sesame Workshop and E-line Media. Zacarias' game, The Dark Labryinth, earned him top honors in the 2012 STEM Challenge Middle School Kodu category. The game challenges players to make their way through a maze while solving multiplication problems and avoiding obstacles along the way. He got the chance to present his winning game to attendees from the government, industry and education sectors, as well as other invited guests in attendance at the fair.
"I never thought I would be exhibiting my game at the White House," Zacarias told STEMblog. "I worked very hard during the making of the game and was very happy about winning a national competition, so I'm very excited and thankful for the opportunity to be part of this great event." Zacarias says he wants to be a professional game designer when he grows up.
The National STEM Video Game Challenge was inspired by Obama's Educate to Innovate campaign and aims to motivate interest in STEM learning by tapping into students' natural passion for playing and making video games.
For more information and to learn more about the Joan Ganz Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media, visit the STEMblog post.
And be sure to check out Zacarias' video game!
