Queen’s deals students a new way to learn about Canadian science

New game from Queen’s McDonald Institute aims to make science more relatable for students in Grades 8 to 10.

Learning about science is taking on a new form at Queen’s University, where real Canadian researchers are becoming collectible cards.

The Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute has developed the Astroparticle Physics Community Card Game with project partner SNOLAB, which is also the location of many of the experiments featured in the game. Communications officer and creator of the card game, Zachary Kenny explains where the idea originated.

Inspired by collection card games such as Pokémon and Star Trek, the game features Canadian scientific projects and the researchers working on them. Each researcher card includes a photo, information about their work and a QR code linking to their professional profile.

Even Nobel Prize winner and Queen’s professor emeritus Arthur McDonald has his own card.

The game is designed for students in Grades 8 to 10 and can be played by two to four people. Players use basic math to combine researchers’ skill points and meet the requirements of different scientific projects. Kenny explains more.

“We are getting science in the hands of people and exposing them to a real person and real science,” said Zachary Kenny, communications officer with the McDonald Institute.

The cards are free to download online, while free physical sets are available at the Astroparticle Visitor’s Centre in Stirling Hall on the Queen’s campus.

Story by Alyssa Brush