GALLATIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you have kids, you've probably encountered this before. Get them a new toy and what they love is the box! A group decided they'd just start with the boxes and make something to inspire creativity.
Let me tell you about this challenge presented to Mae Smyth.
"I thought if you put a bunch of teenagers together, it was going to be a mess!" she smiled.
Mae and some teens were told they needed to build something for the kids of the Gallatin Church Vacation Bible School. Mae and the teens would have a space that used to be a skating rink and certain donated building materials.
"Cardboard!" she said. "Bunch of cardboard boxes. Everyone came together with this one idea."
"It's pretty cool!" said 9-year-old McCoy McSwain, looking over the cardboard box creation. "Since it's made of only cardboard, it took a few hours to make it."
It was a cardboard box castle.
"It's the Knights of North Castle!" McCoy said standing in front of it.
The castle comes with a cardboard draw bridge, winding corridors, and secret exits.
"I thought it was fantastic, and I was glad I didn't have to do it by myself!" laughed Victoria Zumwalt of Gallatin Church.
Victoria said the best part of the cardboard castle is the way it inspired younger kids to also create.
"We're making controllers for our gaming system," McCoy said, drawing a cardboard controller for a cardboard game room.
"Yeah, we're making a gaming system!" added 9-year-old Jameson Baird.
"Push them to think outside the box," said Victoria.
Now, the truth is, by the end of the week, the kingdom must fall. The castle will be torn down on Friday.
Then, that just opens up the question, what can be built of boxes even bigger and better next year?
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
