Case study : Spain

Actively engage children, including those from lower socio-economic groups who may not consider science interesting or a career option, through activities such as games and puzzles. Make anonymised contributions available across groups to explore differences of opinion on biodiversity and what individuals can and should do to protect the environment.

Pablo is a 10 years old kid in fifth grade. At his class his teacher is talking about biodiversity. As part of that subject he will visit with his schoolmates the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid (National Natural History Museum).

During the visit to the museum, an educator from the museum shows them different species from places close to Madrid, some of them are animals in danger of extinction and some others are even extinct species. Part of the visit to the museum takes the form of a treasure hunt where, using tablets provided by the museum, the kids have to find pieces in the museum and solve puzzles associated with those pieces. Also in the game they can see 3D recreations of the habitat of extinct animals and see them in action. At the end of the game, the educator asks them to answer some questions related to biodiversity, also using the tablets.

The interaction in the game and the answers are all recorded and processed, so that the teacher has information about the behavior and possible misunderstandings of his students. Back at school the teacher uses that information to keep on working with Pablo and his classmates on different aspects of biodiversity. He is also provided with some of the 3D content from the game in the museum, so that he can use that content for his explanations in class.
At the end of the term, the museum shows a collective view of the schools that have enjoyed this experience, building of their different views about biodiversity.