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Climate change games as tools for education and engagement

Nature Climate Change volume 5, pages 413–418 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Scientists, educators and policymakers continue to face challenges when it comes to finding effective strategies to engage the public on climate change. We argue that games on the subject of climate change are well-suited to address these challenges because they can serve as effective tools for education and engagement. Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in the development of such games, many featuring innovative designs that blur traditional boundaries (for example, those that involve social media, alternative reality games, or those that involve direct action upon the real world). Here, we present an overview of the types of climate change game currently available, the benefits and trade-offs of their use, and reasons why they hold such promise for education and engagement regarding climate change.

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Figure 1: Clim'way.

CAP SCIENCES

Figure 2: Habitat.

ELEVATOR ENTERTAINMENT

Figure 3: EcoChains: Arctic Crisis.

JOGOLABS

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Acknowledgements

J.S.W. and J.J.L. acknowledge the National Science Foundation for supporting this work under grant 1239783. We thank S. L. Pfirman for guidance on this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 W 120th St, New York, 10027, USA

    Jason S. Wu & Joey J. Lee

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  1. Jason S. Wu
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Contributions

J.S.W. and J.J.L. jointly conceived this article. J.S.W. wrote the first draft. J.J.L. assisted with significant feedback, revision and editing of the final version.

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Correspondence to Joey J. Lee.

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Wu, J., Lee, J. Climate change games as tools for education and engagement. Nature Clim Change 5, 413–418 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2566

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