The popularity of a project aiming to encourage children in Newcastle to embrace their creativity during playtime is growing.

The New South Wales city's Cardboard Box Challenge is getting children to put down their fancy toys and technology devices, and embrace playing with cardboard boxes and craft supplies.

Increasing numbers of families are attending the project's events in Newcastle, which are held during school holidays.

The project has also linked up with a broader international movement.

Ms Cadman says the project helps kids to have a break from playing with toys and technology devices. ( 1233 ABC Newcastle: Robert Virtue )

Re-creating bygone childhood

The local event, which started in 2014, was the brainchild of architecture educator Katie Cadman and her school teacher friend Rosie Summers.

Ms Cadman said she had been keen to see kids embrace their imagination during playtime.

"We really wanted to promote the autonomy and the creativity that children can have when given the opportunity," she said.

"A little bit was a response … to the frustration we felt when kids started school; that [at] preschool there's a lot of focus on play-based learning, and obviously once they transition into school, of course it has to be a little bit more structured.

"We had noticed that with the increase of technology, things had become quite organised.

"There was this real desire to re-create something like [bygone childhoods]."

Ms Cadman said the kids also learnt about sharing and conflict resolution when participating with other children.

"The turnout was way more than we anticipated," she said.

"The kids were just so into it, so incredibly capable of making these amazing creations when given the opportunity.

"Some made enormous cities and houses … some kids were just into making very small little things.

"They were really driving it. It wasn't us driving an outcome. We were really happy to just see what would happen."

Community and parents gaining benefits from free-form play

Marina and Jasper Chamberlain say they enjoy playing with their creations when they are finished. ( 1233 ABC Newcastle: Robert Virtue )

Ms Cadman said parents who attended the events got to step back from life's busyness and embrace creating something with their kids.

"[Craft] can, to an outsider, be quite messy, and sometimes we as adults don't like mess," she said.

"It was this really amazing process of letting go a little bit of control … going along with that process, and allowing serendipitous outcomes."

Kids explore their talents

With the children creating buildings from their boxes, Ms Cadman said the project reminded the community that kids were important in the societal mix.

"Children live in cities, they live in homes, and they intuitively want to make buildings, but very rarely do we actually engage them in that," she said.

"[I really like the fact that] they're active, it's not just a phase you pass through, and they have something they can contribute.

"There's a nice thing about when you put these events on, how the community just naturally takes ownership over it."

For the children involved, such as nine-year-old Jasper Chamberlain, getting hands-on with craft has helped explore their talents.

"You can just make them [the boxes] into whatever you want," Jasper said.

"[I like to make] houses, things you can just use with one box, and then get inside and draw stuff on them."