Mass Extinction: A Curated Game

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

MIT Education Arcade, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, will design and develop Mass Extinction, an eight-week environmental science game proposed as a new genre called the curated game, a hybrid of museum-going, social networking, and online gaming. Participants will engage in Earth systems science to study a range of environmental issues associated with mass extinction. Although the game is structured around a fictional scenario--communication with visitors from the future--the game will posit a future scenario affected by current environmental issues and conditions, and will encourage participants to apply systems thinking as a means to understand how these current conditions will lead to potential environmental disruptions. Thus, it will be necessary for participants to study, apply, and integrate knowledge and skills from multiple sources, including Earth science, ecology, chemistry, and paleontology. An Advisory Board and contributing scientists will be involved. The project team will test the hypothesis that the game play will allow youth, ages 11-14, to increase their understanding of the scientific process and increase their motivation to learn more science. The summative evaluation will be conducted by TERC Inc. A Curated Game Handbook will be produced to disseminate project results as a model for new applications of game-based learning. Open source software created as part of the game will enable future developers in informal science education to build directly upon these foundational efforts.