Taking Antarctic Education to the World
Young people around the world can discover Antarctica’s rich history of exploration and cultural heritage through the global gaming phenomenon, Minecraft.
The Trust has launched a new Minecraft world of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Discovery hut, which will be delivered by our Inspiring Explorers Education™ team in classrooms across New Zealand for free, thanks to our donors. It will also be available worldwide via the Minecraft Education platform.
To create the Antarctic world, the Trust partnered with WDekkers Digital and 12 students from Te Oraka Shirley Intermediate School in Christchurch, New Zealand, who helped build the initial version of Scott’s Discovery hut as part of the Greater Christchurch Schools Network Kāhui Ako Digital Project.
These students were among the first to try it out in November. One of the student developers, Shaker, described the experience as a proud moment, “This is a big achievement because everyone around the world will use it, and we’re the ones who made it.”
Minecraft will be delivered by our education team alongside our virtual reality experience of the same hut. Designed as a collaborative classroom activity, students begin their journey aboard Scott’s ship, the RRS Discovery, before going ashore to meet polar explorers and learn about life on the Ice. Working in groups, they complete tasks including searching for artefacts inside the hut, building kennels for the expedition’s huskies, and designing their own Antarctic hut.
The Trust acknowledges the generous support of the Greater Christchurch Schools Network, WDekkers Digital, and donors to the Inspiring Explorers™ Fund.
