Educational Game Earns A+

NAHB Public Affairs
January 1, 2003
Professional Builder

	NAHB President Gary Garczynski

Educating future generations of home buyers about the housing industry and the obstacles it faces was one of my priorities for the NAHB in 2002. I'm proud to report that the effort was very successful.

Last fall the NAHB launched Building Homes of Our Own, a CD-ROM video game targeted to middle school students. They build "virtual" homes while testing their math, science, social studies and language arts skills. Not only does this help instruct children in traditional classroom subjects, but it also provides the home buyers of tomorrow with insight into the home building process and the issues that shape housing. Initial response to the program was outstanding. The first 10,000 CDs were distributed almost instantly.

Building Homes of Our Own won a 2002 International EMMA (Electronic Multimedia Award) for learning programs for children age 3 to 18. This awards program attracts entries from more than 40 countries and is considered the most prestigious awards program for interactive media. The 2002 EMMAs generated 500 entries in 27 categories.

Building Homes of Our Own is available at www.homesofourown.org.

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