On May 18, the mobile science adventure "Who was Johnny Green?" will be launched. This location-based game was developed on the 7scenes platform by educator Roger Edmonds and middle school students from the Burra Community School in Australia.
Part science, part history, part open-air museum, "Who was Johnny Green?” was developed to lead new audience groups to re-discover the science and history of Burra, a heritage copper mining town in South Australia. It takes them through a personal, interactive mobile experience which has as its focus a mystery to solve. The use of new digital media, mobile technology and a physical traditional map to play the adventure will more fully engage the youth of Australia in science.
The adventure game was framed around a narrative based on the mysterious figure of Johnny Green – the silent miner and mascot of the Burra Mines. He guides the user through the mine sites to show how science and engineering made their impact on the community. Each site reveals text, video, audio, photos or rewards. These clues and rewards will ultimately lead the user to solve the mystery of who Johnny Green really was.
The use of 7scenes
7scenes was chosen by Roger as the online location-based storytelling platform to design and develop the mobile science adventure beacuse our tools could be confidently and efficiently used by school-aged students who were involved as the designers and directors. 7scenes offered these students the opportunity to be creative to conceiving and presenting their research, challenging the use of more traditional products of science pedagogy.
"Who Was Johnny Green?" has been a real community-based project. The project was supported through the Australian Government’s Inspiring Australia strategy which aims to build a strong, open relationship between science and society, underpinned by effective communication of science and its benefits.
Check out the website to learn more or visit the 7scenes game here.