Last week a team of science education and learning technologies researchers led by Dr. Robb Lindgren took their new game prototype called “eneregIze” to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. This research project on how body movement with interactive technologies can help understanding basic ideas in science, such as energy, is funded by the National Science Foundation.
"This has been a an excellent opportunity for the College of Education to build connections with the Indy Children's Museum, one of the premier children's museum in the country," said Robb Lindgren, assistant professor in Curriculum & Instruction. "It is clear that we share an interest in creating new technology-based learning experiences that engage students in STEM."
The research team is asking groups of museum visitors ages 8 to 11 their ideas about energy and energy transformation before and after they play the game. In the game the children use their bodies to store and use energy in order to get a robot trapped in a factory to safety. The game was designed and developed entirely by students and faculty at Illinois. Other faculty leads on the project are Guy Garnett in Informatics and H. Chad Lane in Educational Psychology.
Doctoral student Christina Silliman said the support of the children, their parents, and the museum staff members has been outstanding.
"We are finding that kids have imaginative and intuitive ideas about energy and are excited to express their ideas through the interview and the game itself," she said.
