HealthCraft Project

I couldn’t be prouder of the HealthCraft Project team and everything we’ve achieved together! What made this project so special for me is how it combines two of my greatest passions — #HealthEducation and #GameBasedLearning. From creating 40 educational videos on healthy habits for students, to developing 4 complete games within Minecraft Education, and finally producing a comprehensive teacher’s guide with lesson plans for two age groups — it’s been an incredible journey. A heartfelt thank-you to everyone who made this possible: Juanita Blue and Eoghan Furey from Atlantic Technological University for their outstanding coordination. Alexandra Georgiou, Athanasia Kyrkili, and Professor Meropi Kontogianni from Harokopio University of Athens for bringing deep academic expertise. The amazing educators from Scoil Cholmcille Letterkenny, and Nefeli Birbakou & Marina Stampoli from Shift Education Greece, whose pilot work with students and teachers was invaluable. ATERMON B.V. and Georgia K. Griva from Learning Seed for their key contributions to Work Packages #1 and #2. I can’t wait to see HealthCraft reaching classrooms worldwide — especially through the Minecraft Education Lessons Library (one of our games is already live! 👉 HealthCraft: Quality Sleep https://lnkd.in/dqbBp6Tm , with the rest available on our website: https://lnkd.in/dSqa95Dm Projects like #HealthCraft wouldn’t have been possible without the inspiration and support of the wider Minecraft Education community. The incredible work done by Andy Knueven, Laylah Bulman, Deirdre Quarnstrom, Amanda Jolliffe in IE and Elena Zaglaridou in GR, continues to show how powerful game-based learning can be when it’s used to make a real-world impact. Their vision has been a true source of motivation for our team. Finally, HealthCraft has already reached a wide audience through our participation in multiple conferences across Europe in line with the academic and pedagogical vision championed by Justin Edwards and the team at Minecraft Education, we’re proud to see HealthCraft contributing to the growing body of research and practice on how game-based learning can support health education in schools. Some of our outreach efforts have been in: European Researchers' Night in Parma, IT: https://lnkd.in/dpy-AZW6 and Athens, GR, #EDULEARN25: https://lnkd.in/dvNScTYF , 12th International Conference on Nutrition and Growth. #MinecraftEducation #GameBasedLearning #ErasmusPlus #HealthEducation #EdTech

🌍💡 Did you miss our HealthCraft Online Workshop? No worries! 🎮✨ You can still catch all the insights on how Minecraft Education Edition and digital tools are transforming children’s health literacy. 🧠🍎💪 Watch now on YouTube 👉 https://lnkd.in/e8-QxFQ6 #HealthCraft #ErasmusPlus #Gamification #DigitalLearning #Innovation Atlantic Technological University Harokopio University of Athens ATERMON B.V. Learning Seed Shift Education Greece Scoil Cholmcille

🚀 Empowering Future Generations: Innovation & Digitization in Children's Health Literacy On October 1st, 2025, we brought together passionate educators, researchers, technologists, and policy influencers across Europe to celebrate the achievements of the Healthcraft Project — an EU Erasmus+ initiative reimagining how we teach children about health in the digital age. 🌍💡 Hosted by Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Donegal and partners from Greece, Ireland, and the Netherlands, our online workshop explored the transformative impact of serious games, Minecraft-based learning, and multi-disciplinary collaboration on children's health education. 🎮 What we showcased: - Minecraft HealthCraft Project Worlds that bring health topics like nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and mental well-being to life. - A PowerPanda mascot guiding children through interactive health adventures. - A robust Teacher Toolkit with 200+ pages of lesson plans, printable resources, and classroom games. - A video library with bite-sized, multilingual health education clips narrated by children, for children. - Evidence-based insights from experts in nutrition, psychology, cyber education, and gamification. 👩🏫 Backed by extensive school testing across Ireland and Greece (400+ children), the Healthcraft project has proven to be not only engaging and educational — but truly transformational. 🎤 Powerful inputs from: Juanita Blue (Project Coordinator, ATU Donegal) Athanasia Kyrkili (Nutritionist, Harokopio University) Dr. Eoghan Furey (Computer Science Lecturer, ATU Donegal) Dr. Alexandra Georgiou (Nutritionist, Harokopio University) Dr. Gerry McWilliams (Cyberpsychologist, ATU Donegal) 👥 And contributions from amazing partners including: Harokopio University of Athens (Greece) 🇬🇷 Shift Education Greece The Moraitis School (Greece) ATERMON B.V. (Netherlands) Learning Seed (Greece) Scoil Cholmcille (Letterkenny, Ireland) 🇮🇪 📣 Missed the event? No worries. All project resources are available freely on our website — including the game downloads, video library, toolkit, and training materials: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eJ2SxdNc Together, we’re building a healthier, more informed generation — one block, dance, and quiz at a time. 💪🎓🧠 #HealthcraftProject #HealthLiteracy #ErasmusPlus #DigitalEducation #MinecraftEducation #SeriousGames #EdTech #ChildHealth #PublicHealth #InnovationInEducation #EUProjects #PowerPanda #AtlanticTechnologicalUniversity

🎉 European Researchers' Night – Parma, Italy 🇮🇹 | HealthCraft takes the spotlight! 🎮🍎🧠 On September 26th, representatives from Atlantic Technological University (ATU)—Juanita Blue and Dr. Eoghan Furey—were delighted to join our EU GREEN Alliance partners at the University of Parma for European Researchers' Night 🇪🇺✨. Together, we showcased the Erasmus Plus HealthCraft Project, co-funded by the EU, to a packed and enthusiastic audience of children, teachers, academics, and members of the public. 🔍 On display: 🕹️ Our brand-new Minecraft for Education Worlds 📚 The Teacher’s Toolkit with health-focused lesson plans 🎥 A suite of Info-Bite Videos promoting healthy habits And of course... 🐼 PowerPanda—our beloved 8ft-tall project mascot—stole the show! Because let’s face it: who doesn’t love an 8ft dancing panda teaching healthy eating habits and the importance of sleep? 😊 We were also thrilled to be joined by ATU colleagues Dr. Owen Kenny, James Blee, and Dr. Kathryn McSweeney, each sharing their own fascinating research with the public. Massive thanks to Margaret Mulchrone and Dr. Frances Lucy of EU GREEN Alliance, who went above and beyond to coordinate the ATU delegation (and keep PowerPanda energised 💪🍌). With 500+ visitors throughout the evening, this was a brilliant platform to share the HealthCraft Project and promote healthier futures for our youngest digital natives across Europe. 📢 Rumour has it that PowerPanda is planning a Donegal appearance soon... watch this space! 🐾 #EUNight #HealthCraft #ErasmusPlus #MinecraftEducation #EdTech #HealthyHabits #DigitalNatives #ATU #ATUResearch #UniversityOfParma #EU GREEN #EuropeanResearchersNight #ScienceOutreach #PublicEngagement #PowerPanda #DonegalBound #ScoilColmcilleLetterkenny

🚀 INVITATION TO HEALTHCRAFT WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY 1ST OCTOBER 🚀 ✨ Innovation, Gamification & Digitisation in Children's Health Literacy ✨ 📅 Date: 01 Oct 2025 ⏰ Time: 11am-12pm IE | 12pm-1pm CET | 2pm-3pm GR 🌍 Location: Online 🔗 Register here: 👉 https://lnkd.in/ez8aFjnk 👩🏫 Hosted by: Atlantic Technological University (ATU) & Harokopio University Athens (HUA) 🎤 Guest Speakers: - Juanita Blue 🌟 ATU - Athanasia Kykili 🌟 HUA - Dr. Eoghan Furey 🌟 ATU - Dr. Alexandra Georgiou 🌟 HUA - Dr. Gerry McWilliams 🌟 ATU

🧠✨ Healthy Minds = Happy Kids! ✨🧠 Let’s help children build strong, balanced minds just like they build in Minecraft—block by block! 🧱💚 🌈 In the #HealthCraft Teachers’ Toolkit, the Healthy Minds module is all about teaching 8–12 year olds how to understand emotions, manage stress, and feel GOOD inside and out! 💖🌟. All activities encourage positive mental habits, improve emotional awareness, and connect well-being with everyday choices. Children learn that mental health is just as important as physical health, and they gain tools for building confidence, managing stress 💆, and staying connected with others 🤝. 👧👦 For ages 8–10: 🎶 Emotion Freeze Dance Dance ➡️ Freeze ➡️ Show a feeling 🛑💃 🧱 Emotional Obstacle Course Move through joy, worries & friendship 🤸🧘 🐾 Emotional Animals Act out feelings like a bear, swan or lion 🐻🦢🦁 🚂 Healthy Mind Express Create a self-care train & tell PowerPanda’s story 🐼💬 📝 Activities for Ages 10–12: ✨ Movement Mirror Mirror your partner’s moves & guess the emotion 🤸♀️👯♂️ 🏃♀️ Emotion Relay Act out feelings while racing through obstacles 😆😴😤 🌦️ Mind Weather Map Draw how your mind feels today — sunny, stormy, or calm? ☀️🌧️🌈 📱 Screen Time Swap Swap screen habits for healthier choices 📲➡️📚🎨 ⚖️ Balanced Day Sort Sort daily habits: healthy ✅ neutral ➖ or too much ⚠️ 🗓️ Design Your Day Create your perfect feel-good routine 🎨🧘♀️🤝 💬 Which one would your class LOVE? To find out more, visit: https://lnkd.in/eJ2SxdNc #HealthyMinds #HealthCraft #MentalWellbeing #HealthyHaits #MindfulKids #TeacherToolkit #FeelingsMatter #PowerPanda #PrimaryWellbeing Atlantic Technological University Harokopio University of Athens ATERMON B.V. Shift Education Greece Learning Seed Scoil Cholmcille

Our fabulous #HealthCraft parter Shift Education Greece promoting their children's #STEM education course on Greek TV!!! Shift brings STEM and primary eduction expertise to the HealthCraft project. Well done Nefeli and Marina 👏.

🛌💤 The #healthcraft Teachers' Toolkit offers playful, practical lessons on quality sleep for children aged 8–10 and 10–12 😴🌙. 👧 Ages 8–10 explore: ⏰ Why a regular sleep schedule matters 🧸 How bedtime routines (like brushing teeth 🪥 and reading 📚) help wind the body down 🌌 What makes a sleep-friendly environment (cool, dark, and quiet!) 🎮 In the “Sleep Steps” board game, kids guide a Minecraft-style character to bedtime, learning healthy habits along the way 🚪🛏️ 🧑 Ages 10–12 take it further with: 📵 Lessons on avoiding screens and caffeine before bed 🧠 Learning how sleep affects emotions, focus, and growth 🛏️ Activities like the “Sleep Diary Challenge”, where students track their habits 📓 🎭 And the hilarious “Sabotage the Sleep” roleplay, where they act out what not to do before bed (think video games at midnight! 🎮🌚) 💤 Kids also learn calming techniques like breathing 🌬️, stretching 🤸, and visualization 🌈. Both age groups discover that good sleep = stronger bodies, happier moods, and sharper minds 💪😊🧠 Learn more at: https://lnkd.in/eJ2SxdNc #SleepWell #HealthCraft #SweetDreams #MinecraftEducation #HealthyHabits #ErasmusPlus #KidsWellbeing ✨🛌💚 Atlantic Technological University ATERMON B.V. Harokopio University of Athens Shift Education Greece Learning Seed Scoil Cholmcille

🚀 We’re thrilled to share that the #HealthCraft Teachers’ Toolkit has just completed its first pilot at Scoil Cholmcille, Letterkenny, in Ireland with over 250 students aged 8–12!✈️ Next stop: Athens, Greece, where the pilot will continue over the next month with even more young learners💡 As part of our mission to promote health and wellbeing through playful, immersive learning, we also piloted the #HealthCraft Video Training Library and #HealthCraft Minecraft Worlds across Ireland and Greece, engaging more than 400 pupils for each resource! 🎮📚 Piloting is a critical step when designing resources for children — it helps ensure the tools we create are fun, age-appropriate, educational, and truly work in real classrooms. Hearing feedback directly from teachers and students helps us refine and improve every block, byte, and lesson. 🧱✨ A huge thank you to the teachers, students, and schools who’ve taken part so far — your insights are shaping the future of #HealthCraft! 🙌💚 Stay tuned for more updates as we touch down in Greece and continue crafting healthier futures together. 🌍🧠 To find out more, visit https://lnkd.in/eJ2SxdNc. #HealthEducation #GameBasedLearning #MinecraftForLearning #StudentWellbeing #InnovativeTeaching Atlantic Technological University Scoil Cholmcille Harokopio University of Athens Learning Seed Shift Education Greece ATERMON B.V.

📘 The #healthcraftproject Teachers' Toolkit brings physical activity to life with exciting, age-appropriate lesson plans for kids aged 8–10 and 10–12 🎉💪. 👧 Ages 8–10 explore: 🤝 Teamwork through “Friends and Opponents”. 🧠 Brain-body connection in “Move & Guess”. 🏃♀️ Active fun while learning aerobic vs anaerobic moves. 💬 Building social, leadership & communication skills! 🧑 Ages 10–12 dive into: 💥 “Exercise & Learning” – Discover how endorphins 🧪 help boost mood 😄, memory 🧠, and focus 🎯. 💃 “Dance the Stress Away” – Shake off stress & express emotions through movement 🎶. 📓 Exercise journals + partner interviews 🤝 to reflect on healthy habits! 🔥 PowerPanda’s Endorphin Bootcamp! Kids move left or right based on whether an activity boosts endorphins 💃🧘♂️🛋️ — then do short, fun exercises to get those “happy hormones” flowing 🎉😆. 💡 It’s learning, movement, and laughter all in one! 🧩 Across all lessons, students develop: 💪 Physical strength 🧘 Emotional resilience 👫 Social skills 🧠 Cognitive awareness All while having fun and building lifelong healthy habits! 🙌🌟. 👉 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eJ2SxdNc #HealthCraft #PowerPanda #ActiveKids #EndorphinBootcamp #MinecraftEducation #HealthyHabits #WellbeingForChildren #GetMoving #ErasmusPlus 🌍🎮✨ Atlantic Technological University Harokopio University of Athens ATERMON B.V. Learning Seed Shift Education Greece Scoil Cholmcille