The BetterGeoEdu project supplies primary teachers with educational material about raw materials, the circular economy and sustainability.
BetterGeoEdu uses Minecraft to develop the educational material. Minecraft is one of the most popular games in the world, where the goal is to survive in an open world made up of blocks. To construct buildings or tools to help you survive, you need to extract raw materials such as wood, stone and metal. Searching for minerals and metals such as iron, gold and diamonds is also important.
BetterGeo is a modification of Minecraft made by SGU, where people learn about geology and raw materials, how they interact and their importance for everyday life. The modification introduces new rocks, minerals, metals and soils, as well as in-game books which provide more information about the item, its geology and where it can be found. The modification also integrates new features such as environmental issues, weathering of certain rocks, new soil types and recycling.
On the website, teachers can find step-by-step instructions for a number of exercises in several languages, along with handbooks, installation guides and more.
BetterGeoEdu was a pilot project carried out in 2017 and later expanded in 2019 and 2020. The project was funded by EIT RawMaterials, initiated and funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) - a body of the European Union.
Access the website here