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Net Zero Game: A Pilot Study Of Game Development For Green Building Education In Rural Schools

Jong Bum Kim University of Missouri Columbia
Danielle Oprean University of Missouri Columbia
Laura Cole University of Missouri Columbia
Laura Zangori University of Missouri Columbia








The research investigates the design and development of a serious game to teach green building design and energy literacy in rural middle schools in the United States. The paper presents a pilot study, education mini-game development integrated with parametric BIM and energy simulations. The game scenario was built on the developed science curriculum modules in our funded research, teaching building energy technologies such as daylighting, artificial lighting, window configurations, building materials, solar panels, etc. The mini game presents a baseline science lab and a media library of typical public schools in the United States. The players have the opportunity to improve energy literacy in several ways: manipulating the building configurations and the energy options, reviewing energy cost and the emission level changes, and monitoring the performance from the dashboards. This paper presents background theory, curriculum design, the mini-game development framework, methods and tools for energy simulation and BIM visualization, and the findings and challenges.

Keywords: Serious Game; Energy Literacy; Green Building Education; Parametric Bim; Energy Simulation; Sdg 4; Sdg 11

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