Computer games and virtual reality experiences are now vital for museums wanting to engage a younger audience. But it can be expensive to produce tailor-made digital content – and that’s where tools such as Minecraft come in.
Launched in 2009, Minecraft is the wildly popular computer game in which players use Lego-like blocks to design 3D structures in an open-ended virtual realm. Minecraft’s scope for creativity means the game has a passionate following among children and teenagers.
It is now so popular in education that teachers have set up MinecraftEdu.com, to show schools how it can be used to enrich learning.
Key statistics
Minecraft in museums
A number of museums have woken up to the game’s potential to engage hard-to-reach younger audiences, as well as its usefulness in producing customised digital content at little cost.
In 2012, the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, ran a series of workshops in which teachers and schoolchildren could use a Minecraft world created by the museum to learn about design, share ideas and work together.
In the UK, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) collaborated with the game’s Swedish developer, Mojang, to stage an evening Minecraft event last August aimed at a younger-than-usual audience.
This featured talks on the game’s potential in digital design and life-size sculptures in the museum’s outdoor courtyard of Minecraft animation and art.
Elsewhere, developers are using the tool to build 3D renderings of museums and the objects they house. Those impatient to see the new V&A at Dundee museum – currently under construction – can explore a Minecraft version of the building created by a local design firm, 4J Studios.
In last year’s Museums at Night Festival, digital artist and Minecraft specialist Adam Clarke staged an event at Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery in Carlisle that featured giant projector screens depicting Minecraft versions of Hadrian’s Wall.
The event also included real Roman artefacts and archaeology, giving a more rounded insight into how the objects were created and used.
Real-world interface
This last point is key to the game’s integration in museums; most practitioners would agree that Minecraft-related content should strike a balance between the virtual and real world, using the tool to enhance knowledge and open up a dialogue for people rather than to replace the physical experience.
In a separate project, Clarke has developed a Minecraft game for Tullie House that depicts the habitat and animal species of the Cumbrian wetlands; children are encouraged to explore the museum and then use the information to create and peer review their own virtual wetlands.
Clarke says working this way engages participants and develops their curiosity and ability to ask questions.
Clarke now hopes to raise funding for Tatecraft, an interactive map aimed at all ages that would take users on an “adventure” through Tate’s collection of British art over the past 500 years.
The game would give players from around the world the opportunity to step inside each artwork, see obscure details in the painting close up and discover background details about the history of the artist and the gallery itself.
Geraldine Kendall is a freelance journalist
With its simplicity of design and focus on personal and collaborative creativity rather than competition, Minecraft succeeds in engaging players in a way that many other video games do not.
By using it to create historical and cultural adventures, it is possible to tell stories in new and unusual ways, offering virtually unlimited ways to experience cultural landscapes, historical artefacts, scientific data and concepts. Thousands of Minecraft maps are downloaded every week.
Used within a museum context, these become windows of education for young people to explore. Drawings, notes, archives and artefacts can be used to create stories that can be explored.
Through discovering new ways of interacting with these source materials, we can inspire a generation of people to engage with museums as a place of adventure, research, play and discovery. It is a bold step that holds so much potential.
Launched in 2009, Minecraft is the wildly popular computer game in which players use Lego-like blocks to design 3D structures in an open-ended virtual realm. Minecraft’s scope for creativity means the game has a passionate following among children and teenagers.
It is now so popular in education that teachers have set up MinecraftEdu.com, to show schools how it can be used to enrich learning.
Key statistics
- Over 35 million copies sold worldwide to date.
- 1,000 people log into the game every hour.
- 65% of users are aged 21 and under.
Minecraft in museums
A number of museums have woken up to the game’s potential to engage hard-to-reach younger audiences, as well as its usefulness in producing customised digital content at little cost.
In 2012, the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, ran a series of workshops in which teachers and schoolchildren could use a Minecraft world created by the museum to learn about design, share ideas and work together.
In the UK, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) collaborated with the game’s Swedish developer, Mojang, to stage an evening Minecraft event last August aimed at a younger-than-usual audience.
This featured talks on the game’s potential in digital design and life-size sculptures in the museum’s outdoor courtyard of Minecraft animation and art.
Elsewhere, developers are using the tool to build 3D renderings of museums and the objects they house. Those impatient to see the new V&A at Dundee museum – currently under construction – can explore a Minecraft version of the building created by a local design firm, 4J Studios.
In last year’s Museums at Night Festival, digital artist and Minecraft specialist Adam Clarke staged an event at Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery in Carlisle that featured giant projector screens depicting Minecraft versions of Hadrian’s Wall.
The event also included real Roman artefacts and archaeology, giving a more rounded insight into how the objects were created and used.
Real-world interface
This last point is key to the game’s integration in museums; most practitioners would agree that Minecraft-related content should strike a balance between the virtual and real world, using the tool to enhance knowledge and open up a dialogue for people rather than to replace the physical experience.
In a separate project, Clarke has developed a Minecraft game for Tullie House that depicts the habitat and animal species of the Cumbrian wetlands; children are encouraged to explore the museum and then use the information to create and peer review their own virtual wetlands.
Clarke says working this way engages participants and develops their curiosity and ability to ask questions.
Clarke now hopes to raise funding for Tatecraft, an interactive map aimed at all ages that would take users on an “adventure” through Tate’s collection of British art over the past 500 years.
The game would give players from around the world the opportunity to step inside each artwork, see obscure details in the painting close up and discover background details about the history of the artist and the gallery itself.
Geraldine Kendall is a freelance journalist
Adam Clarke, digital artist and games consultant
With its simplicity of design and focus on personal and collaborative creativity rather than competition, Minecraft succeeds in engaging players in a way that many other video games do not.
By using it to create historical and cultural adventures, it is possible to tell stories in new and unusual ways, offering virtually unlimited ways to experience cultural landscapes, historical artefacts, scientific data and concepts. Thousands of Minecraft maps are downloaded every week.
Used within a museum context, these become windows of education for young people to explore. Drawings, notes, archives and artefacts can be used to create stories that can be explored.
Through discovering new ways of interacting with these source materials, we can inspire a generation of people to engage with museums as a place of adventure, research, play and discovery. It is a bold step that holds so much potential.
