A SPACE-THEMED VIDEOGAME TO DELIVER EDUCATION AND INSPIRATION TO SPACE IN THE CANALE WEB AEROSPAZIALE

摘要

The Canale Web Aerospaziale is a joint educational project between Italian Aerospace Research Centre and Italian Space Agency devoted to space promotion and education among high-school students. In order to increase the audience share, and to reach students outside the schools and non-students as well, the development of an educational videogame is now running. Videogames have an high promoting potential among the masses, thanks to their popularity and diffusion, and, on account of their dual narrative-simulative semiotic nature, they are well-suited to serve for new education methods like the experiential learning. The aim of this paper is to outline the potential of the videogame medium as a space-sciences educational tool for young audiences, and to describe the edutainment space game concept that is under development within the aforementioned Canale Web Aerospaziale project. An overview of existing educational project based on videogames will also be provided, and possible future developments for a wider space outreach initiative based on videogames will be proposed.