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The Great Garbage Patch: The Bionauts’ Challenge – An Educational Escape Room on Marine Plastic Pollution and on Possible Solutions
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This study developed an educational escape room called 'The Great Garbage Patch: The Bionauts' Challenge' to engage the public with marine plastic pollution and biotechnological solutions using plastic-degrading bacteria. First presented at Maker Faire Rome 2024, the game was subsequently adapted into a tabletop format for broader outreach, showing encouraging awareness outcomes.
Marine plastic pollution is a critical environmental issue, with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch symbolizing its severity. To engage the public in understanding this crisis and exploring scientific solutions, we developed "The Great Garbage Patch: The Bionauts’ Challenge", an educational escape room set in a biology lab aboard an oceanographic research vessel. Participants must solve challenges and puzzles to learn about marine pollution and the role of plastic-degrading bacteria in ocean cleanup. First presented at Maker Faire Rome 2024, the escape room attracted students, educators, and families. A tabletop version was later introduced to extend its reach at other events. Through gamified learning, participants explored the impact of plastic waste and the potential of biotechnology in mitigating pollution. This case study highlights the potential of educational escape rooms for informal science learning. While results were encouraging, they should be interpreted with caution due to methodological limitations such as self-selection and group-based evaluation. Still, the experience demonstrates how game-based learning can foster curiosity and deepen understanding of STEM subjects and environmental issues.
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Study of the Impact of a Teaching–Learning Sequence on Marine Plastic Pollution: Transformative Environmental Education and Serious Games in Initial Teacher Education
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Researchers tested a classroom activity, including an escape-room style box, to teach future primary school teachers about ocean plastic pollution. In a study of 25 teacher-training students in Spain, those who completed the activity showed a better understanding of how plastic pollution affects people, animals, and ecosystems, and reported they might use similar activities in their own future classrooms.
A Gamified Teaching Proposal Using an Escape Box to Explore Marine Plastic Pollution
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This study designed and implemented an escape box activity for 79 seventh-grade students in Cádiz, Spain, integrating One Health perspectives on marine plastic pollution, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss to promote transformative environmental education. Results revealed high student motivation and engagement with the storyline, and solid understanding of the link between marine plastic pollution and its effects on animal and human health, demonstrating gamified learning as an effective tool for environmental literacy.
Educational games about the environment: The microplastics escape game OCEAN EYE
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Researchers developed and evaluated the OCEAN EYE microplastics escape game as an educational intervention targeting awareness and pro-environmental behavior among Austrian participants aged 15 and older, designing an evaluation framework to measure feasibility, willingness to act against microplastic pollution, and overall player experience.
Creating an Interactive Environment for Learning Microplastics VIA a Board Game at the Museum
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Researchers developed a board game for a natural history museum that teaches visitors about microplastics and their environmental impacts using an interactive spreadsheet simulation. Testing showed the game effectively improved understanding of microplastic pathways and ecological consequences in a museum learning setting.
Integrating Ocean Literacy into Secondary Education through Gamification: The Case of Marine Dobble
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Researchers designed and tested Marine Dobble, a gamified card game adapted to teach ocean literacy and marine biodiversity concepts to secondary school students, finding gamification an effective tool for integrating environmental education into curricula where ocean topics are underrepresented.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.