Students now have a chance to be an explorer-restorer of St Peter’s Basilica in the 3D blocky world of Minecraft. Source: OSV News.
Thanks to a new online educational opportunity created by Minecraft Education, Microsoft’s game-based learning platform, and with the help of St Peter’s Basilica and Vatican City State, students will be able to explore the 519-year old basilica in the game.
They will be able to explore all of St Peter’s Basilica, its artistic masterpieces and the saint’s underground tomb as well as interact with its caretakers and archeologists to learn more about the world’s largest church and even have a go at restoring it.
“Peter is Here: AI for Cultural Heritage” is a new interactive game released worldwide yesterday.
“It invites students and children to explore one of the most compelling stories: the history of the basilica,” and “to try their hand at restoration challenges and discover how cultural heritage and modern innovation intersect,” Franciscan Father Enzo Fortunato, president of the Pontifical Committee for the World Day of Children, said in Rome yesterday.
Players use simulated AI-enabled “scanners” – like real preservationists use – to inspect key elements of the basilica and square outside to discover what needs repair and problem-solve with others to decide the best approach to take.
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica, said they chose the release date of March 18, the vigil of the feast of St Joseph, because of the saint’s role as an educator “par excellence of the son of God” and to place the game under his patronage.
The game’s emphasis on learning about the basilica’s past, the significance and meaning of its sacred spaces and collaboration means kids can “experience with others building and winning together in the spirit of fraternity,” he said.
“Peter is Here” is available for all licensed users in the Minecraft Education lesson library and trial versions are free to download by logging in with Office 365 or Microsoft 365 Education accounts.
FULL STORY
St Peter’s Basilica becomes a ‘fixable,’ explorable Minecraft world (By Carol Glatz, OSV News)
