News
11.07.2024ARI: Archeological Research Initiative
The Scientific and Technological Centers of the University of Barcelona (CCiTUB) in collaboration with FECYT have developed the informative project "A.R.I.: Archaeological Research Initiave", an educational resource inspired by real cases of archaeological research.
The main objective of this initiative is to allow secondary school students to learn about different experimental analytical techniques associated with archaeology and heritage in an entertaining way, as well as to show the contributions of research support infrastructures in the field of archaeological and cultural heritage.
A.R.I. is a virtual archaeological adventure in which students become part of an interdisciplinary research team and virtually recover archaeological remains from various sites. Among the different analytical techniques proposed by the application, the virtual researcher must choose the most appropriate one to analyze each remains according to the specialty and its contribution to archaeological or heritage research. The information provided by the different techniques allows us to reconstruct historical events.
In recent months, several pilot tests have been carried out in secondary schools and institutes through interactive classroom sessions. In these sessions, a technical team from CCiTUB, accompanied by an archaeologist, facilitates the classroom activity. Students can simulate research activities at an archaeological site through an educational video game where, after collecting samples, they use instruments and techniques related to archaeological investigation, such as scanning electron microscopes or paleomagnetism. Additionally, they can use 3D glasses to view real archaeological sites and study objects.
Despite being a recent project, it has already received an honorable mention in the educational materials section of the international “Science in Action" competition for its innovative approach to teaching experimental analytical techniques associated with archaeology and heritage.
A collaborative project
To carry out the project, the research and innovation group "Heritage Education, Comprehensive Museography and New Technologies" (DIDPATRI) has collaborated for the development of the video game, with the “Agencia Catalana del Patrimoni Cultural” for the advice and visualization of 3D models of its Giravolt project and with the School “Escola de Noves Tecnologies Interactives” (ENTI) for the development of a simulation of archaeological sample analysis. In addition, A.R.I. is complemented by the game "Core Sustainability Lab: (ODS 2150)" where the different possibilities offered by the experimental laboratories of a Research Support Center like ours in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were also presented in a gamified way.
A.R.I. is one of the two FECYT projects of the CCiTUB that have received funding in the 2022 call.
An educational resource accessible to everyone
The video game is now available on this website and also on the itch.io plataform along with the 3D analysis simulation. For more information, contact outreach@ccit.ub.edu.