Mojang and Microsoft announced a new Minecraft Education Edition project on Twitter, and this time, the sandbox building game is aiming for something different. Where previous Minecraft Education Edition projects centered on exploring cultural traditions or recreating the exploits of historical adventurers, the newest experience is a twist on natural historian David Attenborough’s Frozen Planet II documentary in collaboration with BBC Earth.
Minecraft Frozen Planet will go live on Sept. 22, 2022, and, despite being an Education Edition creation, Mojang will host the experience on Minecraft Bedrock’s marketplace for all players to download, even if they don’t have the Education toggle enabled. As these experiences remain live on the platform, Minecraft Frozen Planet has no end date,
“Experience life through the eyes of astounding animals who inhabit some of the world’s coldest regions,” Mojang said.
In partnership with @BBCEarth, we're releasing a #FrozenPlanet2 experience on Minecraft. 🎉
Experience life through the eyes of astounding animals who inhabit some of the world’s coldest regions.
Coming tomorrow. #MinecraftEdu pic.twitter.com/O4Nub11u3A
— Minecraft: Education Edition (@PlayCraftLearn) September 20, 2022
A trailer accompanied the blurb and shows a pair of blocky, non-NFT penguins frolicking on an ice floe, but players can likely expect to see polar bears and a range of arctic wildlife as well.
Unlike traditional Minecraft, with its emphasis on building fantastical worlds and even your own textures, Minecraft Education experiences want players to learn through exploration and immersion. The recent Te Ao Māori experience, for example, introduces players to Māori architecture and language using objects, vocabulary exercises, and even full lesson plans.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF.
