FREE! American Museum of Natural History Teen Programs MicroRangers (Grades 9-12) February 23, 2015 - June 10, 2015

American Museum of Natural History 

Teen Programs

MicroRangers (Grades 9-12)

February 23, 2015 - June 10, 2015

MicroRangers: An Exhibit-Based Mobile Gaming Program about Microbial Organisms, Biodiversity, and Human Health.

Did you know diseases can jump from humans to other animals? Or that the complexity of an ecosystem can determine the spread of Lyme disease? Did you know different groups of people have markedly different stomach bacteria; that, for instance, Japanese people have specialized stomach bacteria that help digest seaweed? The microbes among us, and within us, form a lively and dynamic world that influences our health and biology in many ways. Come with us as we journey into this tiny world and uncover millions of microbial mysteries.

Participants in this upcoming MicroRangers program will expand on MicroRangers, a game prototype developed by students in a program offered last spring. Learning about microbiology and game design, participants will play a key role in the further development of the prototype for the Museum-wide game. Curator and microbiologist Susan Perkins will be joined by a professional game developer to lead the design of the game, which turns a microscopic eye on the Museum’s permanent exhibits to explore how the complexity of microbiomes affects life at the human scale. MicroRangers will use augmented reality technology within a mobile app to offer visitors a trip to the Museum they won’t soon forget.

To learn more about the existing prototype, and what the youth co-developers learned in the process, watch this video from their final presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuDCDj2eYrk

February 23 - June 10

Mondays and Wednesdays

4:30-6:30pm

Free of charge

Grades 9-12

Application must be completed in full: http://bit.ly/MicroRangers2015