The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Guest Speaker
Dr. Kari Kraus
"Alternate Reality Games as Platforms for Learning"

Monday, May 5
12:00 to 1:00pm
RRCHNM (Research Hall, 4th Floor)
Lunch will be provided


Dr. Kari Kraus is an Associate Professor in the College of Information Studies and the Department of English at the University of Maryland. Her recent work focuses on educational transmedia storytelling and alternate reality games.

Presentation Abstract:

In this presentation I'll overview two large-scale Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) funded by the National Science Foundation, focusing on the design process and research objectives of the project. A joint endeavor between Brigham Young University and the University of Maryland in partnership with NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, the Computer History Museum, and Tinder Transmedia, the games are designed to appeal to youth aged 13-17.  Both games are historical and scientific in character. The first is focused on the deep-time sciences. Dubbed "sciences of the archive" by the renowned American historian of science Lorraine Daston, they deal with processes that occur over thousands or millions of years, such as the formation of the galaxies, the evolution of species, or the continental drift of the earth. The second game is focused on computational thinking. Drawing on extensive exhibition resources at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA--including a working model of the Difference Engine (a nineteenth-century precursor to the modern computer)--this game incorporates computer pioneers Charles Babbage (1791-1871) and Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) as historical characters.