Young people designed solutions to air pollution through a game, Minecraft. Collectively the group took actions to reduce the air pollution levels within the game world. By embedding the map of St. Paul’s and St. Werburgh’s within the game, they considered better solutions to transport, heating our homes and urban design.
The Game design was supported with funding from the Parcos Project, a Horizon 2020 funded research project about participatory science.
The team consisted of Dan Tagg, a creative technologist from Wildman and Herring Ltd to support the data narrative within the game, the outreach team at University of West of England Digital Engineering Technology and Innovation Department, who has experience in delivering workshops with young people using Minecraft as a tool and the design the maps in Minecraft by their partner, Atkins.
The Minecraft approach was an excellent mechanism to engage young people in the discussions around air pollution, including understanding the sources, data and solutions. Participants stated that they found the Minecraft workshops “Fun”; they “….learned about air pollution”; and they “….. would play it again”.