Module 2: Wonderground: A Modern Day Treasure Hunt

Click on the image above to discover the game.

       In all honesty I am not a huge advocator of gaming as a form of entertainment, unless it's done in moderation and is appropriate according to the age of the gamer. But I can appreciate educational games. The Official Blog of American TESOL Institute has a list of the best online learning games of 2013. The game that I choose to research more intently was Wonderground:A Modern Day Treasure Hunt. The notion of gaming typically is that it can't be both fun and educational at the same time but Wonderground definitely proves that statement to be false!
      Wonderground is a virtual educational treasure hunt through five different cities: San Fransisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Boston. The first challenge starts in New York at The Grand Central Terminal. That is where you'll start your mission by receiveing clues such as: "Someone here is in deep conversation with a wall. Find her." That is when you take your magnifying glass and scroll through the area in a 360 degree view in hopes of discovering the answer to the clue. If you have trouble finding the clue there are options for a hint.  When you do find the answer then a historical background is given describing the answer to the clue. The background given for the above clue is that a whisper can be heard across the hall at Grand Central Terminal, the whispering walls allow for people to have conversations while whispering. One of my favorites was the clue about a black hole on the ceiling of The Grand Central caused by a rocket that was placed in the station for a 1950's NASA promotion in order to gain public support because at that time the Russians were winning the space race.The treasures in each city are broken up into multiple missions. As you continue to unlock more clues more areas are available for you to explore. Once I complete all of my missions in New York I then move unto the next city that unlocks.

         I only played Wonderground for about half an hour but I enjoyed my experience. I would recommend this game for  middle grade students. I think that they would enjoy finding the clues as well the historical backgrounds.  The clues are also reasonable enough that they are not hard to decipher.  This would be a great activity as a classroom station for students, after a test or as a reward. I love that students are able to explore some of the top cities in our country. Traveling is a treat and not something that everyone is able to delight in until they're an adult. When I was a student and still today I loved anything related to travel and discovering other parts of my country. This gives students the opportunity to visually discover the United States while searching for treasures and discovering historical backgrounds.

        I would definitely recommend that educators use Wonderground: A Modern Day Treasure Hunt in their classroom or as a reward. This game proved to be both educational and fun.