Team WILD – the search for science superheroes gets gamified

Feb. 26, 2013 - PRLog -- Team WILD, an elite squadron of science superheroes, needs your help! Your mission: to protect and conserve the planet’s species and habitats from destruction. Are you ready for the challenge?

The Team WILD game is a fun and unique way for students to discover the importance of a career in conservation and science – by turning scientists into superheroes.

From jungle to savanna, rainforest to coral reef, the Team WILD game will test students on their speed, skill and coordination. As they play, students will discover a diverse range of field tasks a conservation scientist or ecologist must do in order to protect the world’s species and habitats – from replanting native guapuruvu trees in the Atlantic forest of Brazil to evacuating non-infected mountain chickens (a frog) from Montserrat where populations are being decimated by the deadly chytrid fungus.

Team WILD, a new online educational game from Wildscreen, the creators of the ARKive project (www.arkive.org), has been developed to support this year’s National Science & Engineering Week (NSEW) and the theme of ‘Invention and Discovery’. Held between the 15-24 March 2013, NSEW shines the spotlight on how science, technology, engineering and maths relates to our everyday lives, and helps to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Richard Edwards, Chief Executive of Wildscreen, said: “We are always exploring new and innovative ways of reaching wider audiences, and Team WILD does just that – highlighting some of the lesser-known science careers and inspiring the next generation of science superheroes and environmental stewards. The game also celebrates the real conservation heroes – the scientists, researchers and conservationists working on the ground to protect the world’s species and habitats.”

By bringing the natural world to young people on the platforms in which they are most comfortable and familiar, Wildscreen hopes to entertain and educate the next generation of conservationists.

But the learning doesn’t stop there. Team WILD is also supported by curriculum-linked teaching resources, topic pages linked to the game content and discussion points, encouraging students and teachers to continue their learning journeys by exploring the topics touched upon in the game.

Find out more about Team WILD at: www.arkive.org/education/team-wild.

Ends
Notes to editors:
For further information, or for an interview with Richard Edwards, Chief Executive of Wildscreen, please contact:

Lucie Muir, ARKive Content Manager
Telephone: 0117 328 5959   Email: lucie.muir@wildscreen.org.uk
For high resolution images, please contact: lucie.muir@wildscreen.org.uk
About Wildscreen:

Wildscreen (www.wildscreen.org) is a charity working to promote a greater awareness of the world’s biodiversity and the conservation of nature, through the power of wildlife imagery.

Wildscreen brings together the world’s leading filmmakers and photographers, as well as conservationists, scientists, educators and members of the public from across the globe to inspire a greater interest in the world’s wildlife, raise awareness about the threats facing our planet’s biodiversity and encourage conservation of the natural world.

About ARKive:  
A unique online collection of the very best films and photographs of the world’s wildlife, providing a stunning audio-visual record of life on Earth, freely accessible to all at www.arkive.org.

Team WILD was designed, built and released into the wild with the help of Bristol-based creative agency Thought Den.