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Mercury Autumn 2011 Table of Contents

by Randy Russell

Computer-based simulations and virtual labs are valuable resources for science educators in various settings, allowing learners to experiment and explore "what if" scenarios. Educational computer games can motivate learners in both formal and informal settings, encouraging them to spend much more time exploring a topic than they might otherwise be inclined to do.

This poster is effectively a "literature review" of numerous sources of simulations, games, and virtual labs.

Although we have encountered several nice collections of such resources, those collections seem to be restricted in scope. They either represent materials developed by a specific group or agency (e.g. NOAA's games website) or are restricted to a specific discipline (e.g. geology simulations and virtual labs).

This poster directs viewers to games, simulations, and virtual labs from many different sources and spans a broad range of Earth science and astronomy disciplines. The poster is also a sampler of a broader, more in-depth collection of such resources available online at a website dedicated to disseminating such items.

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