McMaster students try to break Guinness World Record – for a good cause
Kushtrim Sertolli is one of the students trying to break a Guinness World Record by hosting the world’s largest online quiz (Image courtesy MacWorldRecord).
A group of McMaster students are trying to break a world record and help the environment at the same time.
Several student groups are collaborating in an effort to try to break the Guinness World Record for the largest online quiz. They will need over 2,400 community members to come together to pull it off.
“We wanted to do something big,” says Adam El-Kadi, a third-year Bachelor of Health Sciences student who is helping organize the event.
El-Kadi says the group originally aimed to find a way to mark the end of the online school experience.
“We’ve been online for two to three years now. It’s taken a toll on a lot of students,” says El-Kadi. “We wanted to mark the end of the online era with something really big — the largest online Kahoot!”
Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform where users can generate their own multiple-choice questions.
Community members will be able to log on and take part in an hour-long livestream experience that has been curated by the student groups. El-Kadi promises videos, trivia and sustainability questions, a live chat, prizes and most of all, an entertaining and fun experience.
“It won’t be anything you have to do homework for,” laughs El-Kadi.
The group has teamed up with #TeamTrees, a U.S.-based fundraising group that plants trees all around the world. For every dollar raised through the online quiz, one tree will be planted, say the organizers.
“[#TeamTrees] is a big movement that has raised over $20 million. So, we’re going to add to that pot,” says El-Kadi.
He says the students behind the initiative are focused on sustainability issues and want to use this event to advocate for climate action.
El-Kadi says they are also hoping it will be a unifying experience at the end of what has been a difficult year for a lot of people.
“Really the big thing we’re going for is to bring the McMaster community together,” says El-Kadi. “We’re a community that really comes together when it when it’s time for it.”
The attempt to break the Guinness World Record takes place at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13th. More information and registration for the event can be found here.
