With the summer holdiays soon upon us, beach trips are likely to be on the cards for many a family. Sand, sun and whippy ice creams galore are de rigour for all English seaside holidays, but that doesn't mean there's no potential for accidentally coming a cropper either - serious sunburns, heat stroke as temperatures sore into the twenties and trying to eat your chips before a wily seagull does are all big risks. And then there's the sea itself, which at least has the potential to turn a light-hearted paddle into a lifeguard calling disaster if you don't stay aware of your surroundings.
In light of this, everyone's favourite lifeboat charity, the RNLI, have been conducting some research into how best to teach little ones about beach safety - and, as you've probably guessed by now, it has something to do with Minecraft.
Beach safety, Minecraft style!
For the uninitiated, Minecraft is a largely open-ended game, focussed around collecting raw materials and crafting them into all kinds of blocky items, tools and structures - along with some customary monster bashing, of course. Using these creation tools, the Minecraft community have managed to make some seriously impressive structures, from recreations of Disney theme parks to The Simpson's home town of Springfield to a replica of Notre Dame. And now, following a successful run last summer, the RNLI has launched a second year of its Beach Builder Challenge, which tasks kids with building the beach resort of their dreams, but with one catch - it must be as safe as possible, with lifeguard huts, rescue watercraft and more, ready to spring into action should the need arise. Available on Xbox and Playstation consoles, as well as tablets and PCs, you'll need to register before you can play, by emailing [email protected] between now and the 29th August to reserve a place for your child.
In addition to the Beach Builder Challenge, children will be able to try their hands at the all new Minecraft Beach Island Adventure. Comprising four levels, the game hopes to teach children aged 7 to 14 about the RNLI's Stay SAFE acronym to promote seaside safety - Spot the dangers, take Advice, stay close to a Friend or Family member and learn what to do in an Emergency. Perhaps not as catchy as some, but still undoubtedly important. Unfortunately, this Beach Island Adventure will be available on tablets and PCs only this year (after registering as above), although we wouldn't be surprised to see it expanded onto consoles for next summer if successful.
Nothing burns things into your mind quite like 30 foot letters.
Both games comprise part of the RNLI's research into new methods of educating youngsters about safety, independent of their academic abilities - last year saw a whopping 8,000 children take part from across the world. Feedback from the 2015 campaign revealed that, after having played the game, a staggering 97% of participants knew to go to a lifeguarded beach, while a fifth of children knew to dial 999 and ask for the coastguard if they found someone in trouble on the beach. According to the RNLI's Community Safety Project Manager Bridie Appleby-Gunnil, 'We've created a fun, educational experience where a young person can engage and learn about water safety in a self-organised way, and where academic ability does not limit learning. Research suggests that children learn and retain more when they can organise their own learning. Last year's feedback has shown Minecraft to be a fantastic enabler in allowing this to happen". With regards to this year's Beach Safety push, Bridie added "I'm really hopeful the results of this year's challenge will be just as encouraging. We'll be looking for participants to take part in research, to help us further develop ways to enable water safety learning in this age group.' he adds.
To register your interest, simply email [email protected] before the 29th August to sign up. At the end of the project, you child will be asked to fill in a short online questionnaire to assess how much beach safety they've learnt from the experience. Taking part in the quiz is entirely voluntary though, and you have no obligation to answer the questions after playing through the Beach Builder Challenge or Beach Island Adventure - although we'd certainly urge you to lend the RNLI a hand!
