First-Ever Minecraft Lab Coming to Marietta

MARIETTA, GA -- Microsoft is donating $10,000 to the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics to create a Minecraft Lab.

This is the first such lab the tech giant has ever created at any school.

Teachers and students will be able to use the space to create engineering design challenges

The Marietta Center for Advanced Academics (MCAA) and Microsoft recently signed an education partnership agreement through the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce Partners in Education Program.

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The space will be used by teachers and students to engage in engineering design challenges tied to grade level expectations. Students will work in virtual reality spaces in Minecraft to demonstrate mastery of the content. Teachers will receive ongoing professional development and the lab will be used for a case study by Microsoft. There are also opportunities for Marietta High School students to collaborate in this endeavor through their International Baccalaureate (IB) personal projects.

“This partnership is significant and we are thrilled that Microsoft selected Marietta City Schools,” said Superintendent Dr. Emily Lembeck. “This is another opportunity to expand our students’ experiences and to encourage them through innovative STEM instructional hands-on opportunity. Our goal is to eventually extend this work beyond MCAA to other elementary schools in the district.”

The Partners in Education program sponsored by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, and the Marietta City Schools and Cobb County School Systems, establishes a voluntary relationship between a business or organization and a school. The program supports and enriches the education of students; promotes community strength and identify needs; and, provides business employees and organization members the opportunity to identify the successes and needs of the public school systems.