Nintendo’s new program to get Labo into classrooms is a no-brainer

Nintendo Labo feels like a slam dunk for educators. And now, thanks to a partnership with the non-profit Institute of Play, it’s actually going to happen.

Labo, for anyone who might not know, is a nifty Nintendo Switch product. It’s not so much a game as it is a building platform, with users following instructions as they fold included sheets of cardboard and combine them with string and plastic hardware (bolts, grommets, and the like).

Different kits yield different creations. The Variety Pack, for example, comes with the pieces needed to build a fishing pole game controller, a vehicle steering controller, a rudimentary piano, and a remote-controlled car. Once an item is built, you can then slot in Switch Joy-Con controllers — which are packed with a gyroscope and an infrared sensor — to make it interact with the Labo software.

As video games go, Labo experiences don’t stack up against a Super Mario or Zelda. But this isn’t a traditional game. There’s a very tangible feeling joy that comes from putting together elaborate cardboard creations with your own two hands and then using them to control a simple Switch game.

It’s perfect for the 21st century elementary school classroom, where STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) programs are used to get students actively thinking and talking about their work. 

At the outset, the program will get Labo into around 100 schools — roughly 2,000 students, ages 8-11 — for the 2018-2019 school year. Nintendo foots the bill for hardware and Institute of Play provides the documentation, in the form of a teacher’s guide.

“We really believe that there’s a lot of skills that can be developed [using Labo],” said Arana Shapiro, co-executive director at the Institute of Play, an organization whose work aims to make education a playful experience. “A lot of those 21st century skills like collaboration, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking.”

It starts in the “Make” section of the Labo software, where touchscreen controls and cheery animations turn the building process into a more engaging experience. One something is built, “Play” is where the games are found. But it’s the third and final “Discover” mode, and its Toy-Con Garage, that lives at the foundation of Labo’s classroom applications.

“Toy-Con Garage is a toolset,” said Reggie Fils-Aimé, president and COO for Nintendo of America. “[It’s] a series of experiences that you as the consumer can use to create and program a wide variety of different creations.”

Garage is a simplified programming interface that lets you go behind the scenes with Labo and come up with a working design of your own. It’s not a matter of following written instructions here; you’re coming up with the object you want to build, and telling each controller command what to do (within the constraints of Labo’s capabilities).

“We really believe that there’s a lot of skills that can be developed using Labo.”

It’s a pure act of creation, where the creator has to map out, from start to completion, every step of what to build and how it will interact directly with the Switch Joy-Con controllers. Every facet of that process is spark for creative thinking and problem-solving.

“The classroom experiences that we’re developing start with building one of the [out-of-the-box] Labo products and then playing with it and understanding what it can do,” Shapiro said. Garage comes after that, once they’re familiar with the Labo.

“We want kids to be able to take information and manipulate it and do things with it and talk about it and argue about it,” Shapiro said. “But those kinds of skills are things that need to be taught to kids, and that’s where we really see the [potential for] Labo.”

The educator-facing documentation Institute of Play has developed isn’t an intricately structured curriculum with fleshed-out lesson plans and courses to follow. It’s more a set of guidelines and ideas, the kind of foundation a teacher could lean on while still bending the program to the needs of their specific classroom.

Nintendo also intends to make that guide freely available online at some point in November. So while schools approved for the initial program will receive Switch and Labo kits from Nintendo, educators who want to test out classroom Labo experiences — and who have the resources to supply the $300 Switch and $70 Labo kit — can do just that.

“We’re trying to create something that is really flexible and allows teachers a lot of autonomy, so they’re able to have really successful experiences with it,” Shapiro said.

Making the Labo program an appealing thing for educators to consider is a big piece of why Nintendo partnered with Institute of Play in the first place.

“Institute of Play understands educators, they understand what will work in a classroom environment,” Fils-Aimé said. “Nintendo understands Labo. We understand how to utilize the contents, not only the main Toy-Con creations but also the creative aspects of Labo to really help bring the overall program to life. 

It’s not clear yet how the partnership will grow. There was already a pilot program conducted in New York City that led to the creation of the teacher’s guide. Now, starting in November, the program will roll out to 100 schools across the U.S., plus an unstated number in Canada.

Nintendo’s plan is to watch it all unfold and see how it grows organically. Fils-Aimé didn’t commit to a timeline for a wider rollout — and to be fair, that’s not really Nintendo’s style. But talking to him, it’s clear that the company has high hopes for this program and its educational value.

“We believe that this effort utilizing Labo is something that can really be magical. The ability for kids to tinker with the system, to problem solve, is really what excites us,” he said. 

“My expectation is that, with continued success, we’re going to continue to grow this program and reach more and more kids every single year.”