Aurorasaurus Project Creates Aurora Chasers – The Game!
Aurorasaurus Project Creates Aurora Chasers – The Game!
The Aurorasaurus project, supported by the New Mexico Consortium, has recently created a role-playing card game to help answer the surprisingly complicated question, “how can I see the aurora?”
Aurora Chasers, recommended for ages 11 and up, covers multiple subjects: space science, language arts, geography, math, meteorology, and more! Gameplay is kept simple to spotlight educational content and keep games quick enough for classroom use.
In this collaborative game, players work together to tell stories that reveal geographic, space weather, community, and other factors aurora chasers need for their best chance at seeing the Northern and Southern Lights.
They take on the roles of intrepid, globetrotting aurora chasers on an aurora-viewing mission from the Aurorasaurus mascot, Rory Aurorasaurus. With eight opportunities to see the aurora, players draw cards from five categories that help tell the stories of the aurora chase.
Players learn about what causes the aurora, such as the flow of magnetism and energy from the Sun, the presence of aurora-related phenomena, and the active solar maximum and quiet solar minimum. Just like in real life, players must pick a good location, ensure night sky safety, and count on other aurora chasers.
Finally, since Lady Aurora always dances with Lady Luck, players roll dice to find out whether they saw aurora. On a successful roll, they score a beautiful card with a photo by a real-life aurora chaser. Complete the 8-story game to get feedback from Rory Aurorasaurus herself!
The Aurorasaurus project is tremendously grateful to aurora chasers Vincent Ledvina, Rocky Raybell, Chandresh “CK” Kedhambadi, Donna Lach, Jeremy Kuzub, and Rebecca Robinson for generously allowing them to feature their photos in this educational game.
Grab your free, printable game kit here:
Instructions
Printable game pieces
Prototype reflection worksheet
Variations for online play, solitaire, and classrooms are included.
Get in touch with the Aurorasaurus team for feedback or future collaborations at: aurorasaurus.info@gmail.com