The Museum of Science in Boston is venturing into immersive online education with its latest offering on Roblox, titled “Mission: Mars.” Developed in collaboration with Filament Games, this interactive experience challenges participants to design and refine vehicles suitable for traversing the red planet.
Engaging learning on Roblox
“Mission: Mars” represents the museum’s first foray into the popular global platform known for its immersive 3D experiences. Through this educational effort, the museum aims to engage students of different ages in the engineering design process. Participants work together to develop vehicles for navigation and mission completion on Mars.
This initiative is especially notable because the Museum of Science is the first to launch an experience within the framework of the Roblox Community Fund (RCF) since its inception in November 2021. With an initial grant of $10 million, the RCF enables educational organizations to create innovative and engaging learning experiences on Roblox. By taking advantage of this opportunity, the Museum of Science seeks to build greater equity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.
Immersive Mars exploration
The ‘Mission: Mars’ experience provides a digital learning environment aligned with science standards. Participants can immerse themselves in a simulated exploration of Mars, complete with tasks such as navigating a hi-tech Mars Rover, completing level-based missions to find evidence of water, collecting water ice samples and rescuing fellow explorers. The experience also includes a creative element where players design and build their own vehicles and earn experience points and rewards.
Museum of Science President Tim Ritchie expressed the museum’s broader ambitions, stating: “The museum’s entry into the metaverse is part of our commitment to reach 100 million people in museums, classrooms and online by 2030, breaking down barriers for involvement are removed and more equality is created. in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. It’s not enough that the museum is the most popular destination for families in New England and shares hands-on curricula with educators and millions of students around the world – we also want to take a leap of faith to meet students where they are with top talent. -quality STEM content.”
The Museum of Science in Boston’s integration of the Roblox Metaverse with “Mission: Mars” showcases the evolving landscape of educational tools. Initiatives like these not only enhance interactive learning, but also demonstrate the potential of Metaverse technology in opening new avenues for education.
