The Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Flight and Space program at Sun Valley Middle School has a unit of study called Minecraft Education’s Destination: Mars.
Sun Valley Middle School has a Middle School Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Flight and Space class available to 8th grade students that is an introduction to Aviation and compliments the Sun Valley High School Aviation Academy. One of the units of study within this program is Destination: Mars. Mrs. Diana Ollis is using the game-based platform of Minecraft Education Edition to help simulate this journey. Students in her class will be using teamwork, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving skills to create a successful Mission to Mars. In this immersive digital environment teams will work on several objectives:
- Conduct research on:
- How to survive on Mars
- How to build a base on Mars
- How to build a sustainable colony on Mars
- Decide on 27 items to take on the journey and explain their importance
- Successful arrival on Mars:
- Assign roles and responsibilities – Engineer, Biologist, Materials Expert and Explorer
- Build a Base
- Start a Farm
- Explore Mars
The game based program emphasizes the importance of teamwork to accomplish all the objectives. We are still waiting to see who SURVIVES their journey.