In an effort to raise awareness of marine conservation, the Ocean Institute, Connected Camps and the Connected Learning Alliance are inviting young people to take part in a Minecraft social media activation on World Oceans Day June 8.
A video, featuring Minecraft’s new Aquatic Update and fun facts curated by the Ocean Institute, will debut on Connected Camps’ social media channels — YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Kids will be encouraged to watch and share the video using the hashtag, #WorldOceansDay, in their own social media posts throughout the day. And, to top off the collaboration, the Ocean Institute will bring a low-income school class on a free field trip to visit the Institute for the first time at its headquarters in Dana Point.
“We are thrilled to partner with Connected Camps and to see kids using the tools that are important to them — and their peers — to celebrate our ocean,” said Wendy Marshall, vice president of education at the Ocean Institute. “With 95% of the ocean yet to be explored and many threats to the ocean health, we need to develop the next generation of innovators and discoverers. We believe that the habits of mind that students develop through the learning experiences that Connect Camps offers are the very attributes that are needed! Curiosity, creativity, persistence, collaboration, and flexibility will be critical to furthering our knowledge of the ocean and solving the most pressing problems. Ocean Institute is thankful to the students who are participating and are using their creativity to engage others.”
Indeed, said Mimi Ito, Connected Camps founder and director of the Connected Learning Lab at the University of California, Irvine.
“We are seeking to connect kids’ enthusiasm for Minecraft to science and civic engagement in conservation,” she said. “The new aquatic patch lets us meet kids where they are, having fun with their friends, and connect them to these new potential areas of interest. It’s about educators and civic activists fishing where the fish are already swimming, so to speak.”
Connected Camps is a nonprofit organization that teaches STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) concepts through Minecraft. When Microsoft/Mojang recently released Update Aquatic for Minecraft, Connected Camps teamed with the Ocean Institute and the Connected Learning Alliance and started using the game to teach kids about some core principles of ocean conservancy while they explore the new update to the game. Its campers now are making content and participating in the global conversation about the conservation of the world’s oceans.
Banner image credit: Minecraft
