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Using Minecraft to engage young people in STEM

To coincide with COP26, Enginuity has launched Skills Miner Home Energy – a Minecraft game which tasks secondary school pupils with upgrading a house, within a set budget, in order to increase its sustainability rating.

A free teaching resource, Skills Miner Home Energy has been developed for use in the classroom for pupils aged 12 -14.

During the game, pupils explore a number of home energy solutions, from double glazing and heat pumps, to loft insulation and solar panels; learning about the pros and cons of each, as well as associated costs. They then “meet” a Domestic Energy Assessor who gives their home an updated energy rating.

Skills Miner Home Energy is the latest edition in this award-winning series which has been developed to bring STEM subjects to life in an innovative way. A previous edition, Skills Miner Aerospace, takes young people into an aircraft hangar where they gain insight into the development of sustainable fuels and building future aircraft.

Speaking about the launch of Skills Miner Home Energy, Ann Watson, CEO of Enginuity said: “We believe that as natural problem solvers and innovators, one engineer can change their world and ours – something which, given the impending climate crisis, has never been more important.

“A major challenge facing industry is encouraging young people to pursue STEM subjects that will lead to rewarding careers and, hopefully, help in the race to net zero.

“Through Skills Miner, we have created a tool that harnesses young people’s enduring enjoyment of Minecraft; that brings STEM subjects to life, and which provides real-world insight into sustainability challenges.

“We feel tremendous pride at having created a game that serves so many purposes at a pivotal time for the sustainability agenda.”

Enginuity’s Skills Miner games have been developed in collaboration with industry experts so that they provided an authentic insight which reflected emerging technologies and the learning required for future careers.

Enginuity has also worked with education specialists to ensure games are in line with the existing curriculum and mapped to Gatsby benchmarks. Skills Miner Home Energy has been mapped to the school curriculum across all four nations and can be played in or outside the classroom.

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