Museum of Science, gaming firm join the metaverse

Inside the Blue Wing of the Boston Museum of Science

Edited from a New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com) report

The Boston Museum of Science is teaming up with the gaming company Roblox to join the metaverse by launching an immersive online game titled ‘‘Mission: Mars”.

Using data provided by NASA, Mission: Mars will encourage players to navigate engineering challenges around the planet. Some missions will recall science fiction, such as rescuing virtual explorers, but most challenges are inspired by the experiences of real astronauts.

Staff at the museum say that the game will expand beyond just using virtual reality. Mission: Mars will be available for free at schools to encourage teachers to incorporate the game into their teaching. The museum would like to continue to develop programs using Roblox’s platform in an effort to expand access to academic resources.

The Museum of Science’s president, Tim Ritchie, said, “I think you can build and design and use your heart and your mind and your hands, so to speak, by building things and designing things in a digital world. And in fact, it’s a lot less expensive to do so. And you can reach people all over this country and all over the world.”

At Boston Museum of Science: ‘Change Climate Change’

The Museum of Science spans the length of the Charles River Dam, including a parking garage at far left. The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge is visible in the background.

From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)

“Boston’s Museum of Science is raising awareness of climate change through its new “Change Climate Change” initiative. Situated in the museum’s Green Wing, “Change Climate Change” consists of exhibits aimed to help visualize climate change and bring attention to the present and future of our planet.

Included in this exhibit is “Gaia,” a 23-foot-wide inflatable globe that includes high-definition NASA imagery. According to British artist Luke Jerram, this art installment aims to evoke the “Overview Effect,” a sensation that astronauts report feeling when they see the Earth from space.

"Also in the Green Wing, visitors can find a “New England Climate Stories” exhibit, which displays how the climate crisis is impacting the habitats and lives of plants and animals found in the New England region. Another part of this initiative is “Resilient Venice: Adapting to Climate Change,” an exhibit that displays how sea-level rise caused by climate change threatens Venice, which is mostly at sea level.

“When discussing the museum’s Change Climate Change initiative and how she hopes the exhibits will impact visitors, Julia Tate, project manager of touring exhibitions and exhibit production, stated that the museum ‘want[s] people to feel empowered about what they can do and what actions they can take.”’

These zones continue to change with global warming.