Manisha UmmadiLux Science
PRESS RELEASE
Lux Science Launches ‘Starquake Academy’
A Montessori-based, open-world science video game
SAN FRANCISCO, California, November 30, 2017 – Educational technology company Lux Science today announced that the first episode in its upcoming STEM-based space saga entitle “Starquake Academy” is now available to download and play. Staged as a first-person, open-world exploration game, Episode I: Eye of the Storm allows the player to take on the role of Alex, a young, female cadet recruited by Starquake Mining Corporation into their training program on a space station orbiting Mars. As Alex, the player must uncover the mysteries ofStarquake and her own past while gaining understanding and confidence in science through self-paced, Montessori-inspired interactive learning.
Episode I: Eye of the Storm uses its story-driven, open-map gameplay to explore concepts of chemical elements, light energy, and the physics of lasers. The chapter includes a number of mini-games throughout Alex’s mission to reinforce the player’s learning.
“Storytelling is the oldest and most effective education technology. We are reimagining modern science education by applying timeless storytelling principles to an immersive, 3D open-world adventure game. In order for meaningful engagement to occur with our science content, students must first be inspired by our hero’s journey. And as a result of this engagement, we can provide our young generation with positive science experiences that will help them build confidence to pursue science in their own lives. We are excited to share with the world the very beginning of what will become the next modern science saga,” said Roman Kazantsev, PhD, Co-founder and CEO of Lux Science.
Ashish Basuray, PhD, co-founder and CTO, found inspiration in the environment they created. He added, “One of the greatest obstacles in learning is the fear of failure. Our vision was to build an open-world learning environment that embraced the student’s ability to learn by removing the traditional barriers. The inspiration came from a Montessori-style interactive learning approach without formal quizzes or tests. When the student is ready to apply their knowledge, there are puzzles in the open-world environment that enable the student to engage with the ideas they learned.”
Lux Science has several annual membership packages, with our base offering at just $1 per year. We hope to build a community of users to help refine our educational offerings as we work to make science more accessible for all.
Episode I: Eye of the Storm can be downloaded at luxscience.com and is available on both Mac and Windows.
For more information, visit luxscience.com. Like Lux Science’s page on Facebook and follow @lux_science for news and future updates.
About Lux Science
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Lux Science is an educational technology (ed-tech) startup company working to bridge the gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education using open-world, Montessori-based video games. Lux Science was founded in 2016 by Northwestern University alumni Roman Kazantsev, PhD and Ashish Basuray, PhD. A diverse team of ten developers, writers, artists, and strategists who share a passion for STEM education, the Lux Science family is expanding and looking for community feedback and ideas about how to engage young minds. For more information, visit luxscience.com or email the Lux Science team at .
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