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1 February 2014



Teaching Ecology, Chemistry, Geology, and Creativity within Minecraft



Minecraft was published by the company mojang and was released in early 2009 for home computers. Later, the game was released for mobile devices such as smartphones and iPods. In 2012, mojang released a version for the xbox360. Minecraft was created by Markus Persson. It was originally meant to be a game centered on creativity and survival. It challenges players to really think about what their next move; make the right choices. Minecraft, although it is a video game, has many components within it that teach ecology, chemistry, geology, and creativity.



How can a video game teach anyone anything? Calvin Hennick, author of “Does Screen Time Make You Crazy?” tells the story of Nancy Peske, a mom and co-author of “Raising a Sensory Smart Child”, who says her 14-year-old and his friends play the world building game Minecraft on a common server. "There's team work; they're at each other's houses," Peske says. "It's social." One of her son's friends even called recently to thank him for helping to bail out his flooded virtual house. Peske says her son simply wanted to do his friend a favor. "That's totally what you want your kids to do in real life” (147). The creativity in Minecraft is incredible. The Article, “Minecraft Programs in the Library” by Erica Gauquier and Jessica Schneider includes that “Everything you can ever imagine has been created in Minecraft from pop-culture riffs on The Hunger Games arena to an entire virtual world based on the bestselling Game of Thrones series—just two of the amazing recreations already in place” (17).



Minecraft isn’t just a video game; it’s a 3-dimensional copy of the world around us. The game generates different biomes, materials, resources, and “living” things. All of which, are mimicking the world around us to its best ability. Therefore creating a wonderful environment for players to build in, live in, and experiment with. Daniel Short says in his article entitled “Teaching Scientific Concepts Using a Virtual World-Minecraft” that, “Use of the game in schools as an educational tool has increased significantly since the game's full release” (55). I believe the game can be used to teach a variety of subjects.



Minecraft is especially versatile in the way that it can teach ecological sciences. The world of Minecraft includes geographically defined regions/biomes that contain species of plants and animals to match the environment. For example: swamps in Minecraft include lily pads, vines, and murky waters; plains include long grasses, flowers, and animals such as cows, sheep, and horses. The temperature is easily determined by the colouring of the grass and leaves in the area. Oak trees, spruce trees, birch trees, and acacia trees all have their own exclusive textures as well as unique environments to grow. For example: Acacia trees grow in plains biomes, oak trees grow in forests, etc.



This virtual world of Minecraft can also be used to teach chemistry. All sorts of methods such as smelting, mixing, and crafting are practiced in the real world as well as Minecraft. Smelting iron and gold ores can result in pure metals; sand can be heated to make glass or sandstone, bread can be crafted by combining wheat, and cake can be crafted from mixing milk, eggs, wheat, and sugar. It is also possible to burn wood. Short mentions in his article, “Stephen Elford, an Australian primary school teacher, has developed basic states of matter and phase changes simulation (solid, liquid, gas) using players as particles. A four-by-four area is bounded with wooden blocks; this area simulates the solid phase. Students enter the area and are told that they are particles of matter with limited mobility. The area is made larger by burning (simulating an increase in temperature), leading to a phase change to the state of a liquid. Students have more freedom of motion as the liquid phase but are still constrained by the boundaries set a further distance away. Finally, the last boundary is removed, simulating the gas phase (Elford, 2012)” (57).



Minecraft is also a great tool to learn navigation with, students can navigate around the world with x,y,z coordinates. This makes it easier for people to travel to and from their friend’s house or maybe even a specific mining location. Players can also mark geographical landmarks such as a mountain, tree, river, or cliff. Another way of traveling is by using the /tp command which is built in the game but can only be used if the “cheat mode” is enabled. Most people desire the full experience of Minecraft. They prefer to challenge themselves; go against the elements.



Minecraft has many components within it that teach ecology, chemistry, geology, and creativity. But that’s not all, Minecraft can potentially teach math, physics, navigation and many other academic subjects. Minecraft educational maps are already being created, published, and used in classes across the globe. Development of educational maps for the classroom is increasing and there are already maps available online for download.



















Works Cited



Gauquier, Erica, and Jessica Schneider. "Minecraft Programs In The Library." Young Adult Library Services 11.2 (2013): 17-19. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.



Hennick, Calvin. "Does Screen Time Make You Crazy?." Scholastic Parent & Child 21.1 (2013): 147. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.



Mccracken, Harry. "The Mystery Of Minecraft." Time 181.21 (2013): 40. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.



Short, Daniel. "Teaching Scientific Concepts Using A Virtual World - Minecraft." Teaching Science: The Journal Of The Australian Science Teachers Association 58.3 (2012): 55-58. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.