Find Your Role
Player-Scholar Roles
Every team needs every role. Pick the one that fits you best — then learn enough about the others to collaborate. No one builds alone.
How the Team Works
Each role maps to TEK8 petals and Crystal Cycle steps. During a session, everyone works through the same cycle but focuses on different outputs.
Builder
The Architect of the Digital Twin
You are the hands that shape the world. Longhouses, farms, hydroponic greenhouses, weaving looms — you translate research into Minecraft reality. Your builds tell the story.
Responsibilities
- Construct all Minecraft builds for the three challenges
- Follow the build guides on each challenge page
- Use realistic materials and accurate proportions
- Add interpretive signs explaining what each structure represents
- Collaborate with the Researcher for accuracy and the Mapper for documentation
Skills You'll Use & Develop
Your Job in Each Challenge
Build camas prairie, wapato wetland, Three Sisters garden, hydroponic greenhouse, salmon stream, berry patches
Build cedar bark harvesting station, nettle processing area, Salish weaving loom, cattail wetland, woolly dog pen
Build cedar longhouse (step-by-step on /challenges/shelter), tule mat house, managed forest, bent-wood box display
How You Collaborate
Work closely with the Researcher (they provide the facts you build from) and the Storyteller (they narrate what you build).
Researcher
The Knowledge Keeper
You are the eyes and ears of the team. You find the knowledge, verify the sources, and ensure everything we build and say is grounded in truth. You fill the K-W-L chart and cite every claim.
Responsibilities
- Research Indigenous food systems, fiber technologies, and building traditions
- Maintain the team's K-W-L chart (What we Know, Want to know, Learned)
- Find and cite at least 3 sources per challenge beyond NASEF materials
- Verify accuracy of all builds with the Builder
- Connect TEK8 petals to specific research findings
Skills You'll Use & Develop
Your Job in Each Challenge
Research First Foods of Puyallup, Duwamish, Suquamish, Nisqually, Muckleshoot peoples. Three Sisters science. Smelter Plume data.
Research cedar bark processing, nettle fiber strength data, woolly dog history, Salish weaving patterns, cotton environmental impact.
Research longhouse engineering, Douglas fir properties, tule mat construction, bent-wood box technique, agroforestry principles.
How You Collaborate
Feed facts to the Builder (what to build) and the Storyteller (what to say). The Mapper helps you organize your findings.
Farmer / Gatherer
The Land Connection
You are the bridge between screen and soil. You know what grows here, when it grows, and why. You bring the physical world into the digital one.
Responsibilities
- Lead physical garden activities during Crystal Cycle sessions
- Identify plants using iNaturalist during GATHER steps
- Maintain the physical garden, compost, or hydroponic system
- Advise the Builder on accurate crop representation in Minecraft
- Track seasonal rounds and phenology for your area
Skills You'll Use & Develop
Your Job in Each Challenge
Identify and grow actual First Foods if possible. Advise on camas, wapato, nettle representation. Lead soil testing.
Identify fiber plants in the wild (cedar, nettle, cattail). Lead fiber processing demonstrations if possible.
Identify building trees (cedar, fir, alder). Lead forest walks for material identification. Tree ring counting.
How You Collaborate
You ground the team in reality. The Builder creates what you describe. The Researcher documents what you find.
Storyteller
The Voice of the Project
You tell the story. Video walkthroughs, blog posts, narration, presentations — you are how the world hears about what we built and why it matters.
Responsibilities
- Record 2-5 minute video walkthroughs for each challenge submission
- Write blog posts with screenshots as alternative submission format
- Practice narration during QUEST steps in the Crystal Cycle
- Lead the opening (MUSIC) and closing (CLOSE) of each session
- Present the team's work at finals and community events
Skills You'll Use & Develop
Your Job in Each Challenge
Narrate why First Foods matter. Explain the smelter plume and hydroponics response. Tell the story of the Three Sisters.
Narrate the contrast between Indigenous fiber systems and industrial cotton. Tell the woolly dog story. Explain fiber strength data.
Narrate longhouse engineering. Explain how buildings can be living infrastructure. Tell the Water Neighborhoods vision.
How You Collaborate
The Researcher gives you facts. The Builder shows you what to film. The Mapper gives you data to cite.
Mapper / Data Keeper
The Cartographer of Knowledge
You document everything. Screenshots, coordinates, K-W-L entries, Crystal Cycle progress, phenology wheels, crop calendars — you make sure nothing is lost.
Responsibilities
- Take and organize screenshots of all builds
- Log Crystal Cycle completion on farmcraft.7abcs.com
- Maintain the team's K-W-L chart alongside the Researcher
- Track geographic coordinates using /wkit coords
- Organize the final submission portfolio
Skills You'll Use & Develop
Your Job in Each Challenge
Map all farm areas with coordinates. Create a crop calendar. Document the 100-to-400 pipeline numbers.
Map fiber processing stations. Create the fiber strength comparison chart. Document textile crop data.
Map longhouse dimensions. Document building material properties. Create managed forest inventory.
How You Collaborate
You support everyone. The Researcher feeds you data. The Builder shows you what to capture. The Storyteller uses your portfolio for submissions.
Tech / Redstone Engineer
The Systems Thinker
You make things work. Redstone automation, server commands, .mcworld exports, website updates — you are the technical backbone of the team.
Responsibilities
- Build redstone mechanisms (automated farms, water systems, lighting)
- Use WKit commands (/wkit coords, /sector info) to navigate real terrain
- Export .mcworld files for Education Edition distribution
- Help teammates with Minecraft technical issues
- Experiment with new building techniques during PLAY steps
Skills You'll Use & Develop
Your Job in Each Challenge
Automate irrigation and harvesting with redstone. Build functional water channels. Set up hydroponic redstone lighting.
Build a working loom mechanism. Automated fiber sorting. Redstone-powered displays showing processing steps.
Build functional smoke ventilation. Automated door systems. Working fire management displays. Water collection systems.
How You Collaborate
You enable everyone else. The Builder asks you to automate things. The Mapper asks you to export worlds. The Storyteller asks you to set up recording angles.
Not Sure Which Role?
Ask yourself these questions:
"I love building things in Minecraft"
→ Builder
"I love researching and learning new things"
→ Researcher
"I want to be outside, touching plants and soil"
→ Farmer / Gatherer
"I like making videos and telling stories"
→ Storyteller
"I love organizing data and taking screenshots"
→ Mapper / Data Keeper
"I want to build redstone machines and solve problems"
→ Tech / Redstone Engineer
You can hold multiple roles on a small team. The important thing is that every role is covered.