Weather Simulation Game

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To investigate this genre of learning experiences in WIT, we developed a functional prototype p-sim for learners to explore, interact with, and make sense of weather dynamics. We co-designed this p-sim with two middle school teachers. 

In the weather p-sim, the players’ goals are to control how much it rains over their target areas. Air parcels float across the room, conditionally creating clouds that rain onto varied terrain biomes that are spread across the tabletops. Learners can interact with the simulation by heating or cooling the air parcels, creating pressure systems, or raising and lowering the terrain to create mountains and valleys.

(a) Air parcels circulate between upper and lower atmosphere layers, generating rain clouds based on their relative humidity.

(b) Terrain tiles track their individual altitude, temperature, and moisture values. Players can create high- and low-pressure systems or change the temperature of their hand.

(c) Players can gather data by changing the color gradient data display or using the Data Sensor tool.