Tankopanijam — His foundation built a hospital for children.

Why this event exists

A hundred years ago, Alfred I. duPont filled a home with everything he loved.

His foundation built a hospital for children.

Now you get to build something for them, out of this legacy.

Tankopanijam. The Estate opens its archive — objects, music, history — and five teams get seventy-two hours to turn it into a game for the kids who are here in the hospital, right now. The kids write the brief. The kids judge the result. There are three ways to be part of it.

A patient watches their own idea come to life.

Nearby, the student game designers can watch what they build with the patients take shape together. That's only the beginning — the games live on to be played at the hospital bedside.

Universities

Alfred created the foundation and the vision — a place where education and healing come together. You send a team who can build on that legacy.

Put a team in the room.

A scored external competition with a published rubric, an applied learning placement, and a portfolio artifact built for a real client — all inside one week. Your students work from a century-old archive, with prompts from children in the hospital, and hand the results back to them.

Documented assessment evidence per team
Syllabus-ready outcomes if you want credit
Sunday arrival, Monday–Friday on site — one academic week
No cost. Lodging with complimentary breakfast, and snacks provided — teams are responsible for dinners.
Equipment available upon request, limited supplies.

Download the one-pager

Commitments close February 15, 2027

Students

You get the metaphorical keys to the house — and three days.

Build something that gets played.

Any skill level. You'll be handed objects, music, and history out of the Estate's archive, and a brief written by the kids in the hospital themselves. On day four you'll be standing there when they see what you made of it.

National bragging rights for winning
Help build an archive for the Nemours Estate, a historic arts and culture site
Bring your laptop or desktop. Use your engine of choice.
Form your own team of 2–5 — no solo entries, no placement

Apply now

Applications close February 15, 2027

Adopt a team.

Back five students by name. Meet them, be recognized alongside their work, and appear in the credits of a game that stays in service at the bedside long after the week is over.

Named on team materials and the livestream
Meet-the-team session and photo
Funds bedside gaming and a potential scholarship fund
In-kind welcome — hardware, licenses, mentors

Download the prospectus

Sponsorships close March 15, 2027

April 4–9, 2027

A tour, a prompt, three days to build — then the kids play it.

Sun · Apr 4

Arrival & the prompt

Tour the Estate and meet the patients who wrote your prompt. It drops around 5pm — the evening is yours to sit with it and start shaping ideas.

Mon · Apr 5

Day 1

Settle your concept and mechanics, and start making assets. Two check-ins.

Tue · Apr 6

Day 2

Full build day. Two check-ins. This is the day it breaks.

Wed · Apr 7

Day 3

Last build day. Two check-ins, and final builds due 5pm to the requirements.

Thu · Apr 8

Rest & play-testing

Teams stand down and recover. Judges, patients, staff and families play-test and score every submission, all day.

Fri · Apr 9

Awards

Winners announced — by the patients who wrote the brief.