‘Minecraft’ teams up with ‘Frozen Planet’ to create educational worlds

Minecraft has teamed up with BBC documentary series Frozen Planet 2 to create a series of educational worlds.

Frozen Planet 2 is a six-part documentary series created by the BBC and narrated by Sir David Attenborough that “explores the wildlife found in the world’s coldest regions: the Arctic and Antarctic, high mountains, frozen deserts, snowbound forests, and ice-cold oceans.”

Minecraft has collaborated with the team behind Frozen Planet 2 to create five worlds inspired by stories from the show, with players able to explore their environment from the perspective of penguins, bumblebees, polar bears and killer whales. The worlds will also let players try their hand at being natural history film-makers.

The first world went live today (September 21) with further games launching weekly.

According to a press release, “the educational Frozen Planet 2 content has been made available for free to Minecraft: Education Edition users globally in 29 different languages accompanied by lesson plans for teachers to educate and inspire students about the importance of our frozen worlds and allow them to explore the effects of climate change as part of classroom curriculum.”

The five Frozen Planet 2 worlds will also be provided free to Minecraft: Bedrock Edition players everywhere via the Minecraft Marketplace.”

something strangely beautiful and textured about the BBC/Minecraft Frozen Planet II modules where you can play as a penguin in a world where the ice is going away; like a Japanese etching pic.twitter.com/R5DHRDJ9lb

— Mary Branscombe (@marypcbuk) September 21, 2022

“One of the great things about the natural world is its power to engage and enthral viewers young and old,” said Frozen Planet 2’s series producer Elizabeth White. “We are delighted to partner with Minecraft on this range of educational computer games which will enable children to interact with stories inspired by the series through gameplay and learn more about the challenges of these habitats through the additional lesson content”.

“We’re bringing a whole new perspective to Minecraft and collaborating with the great minds behind Frozen Planet 2, a truly authentic experience of some of the most fascinating and important areas of our world,” said Minecraft’s head of education, Allison Matthews.

“It’s never been more crucial to educate players everywhere about the effects of climate change and inspire a new generation of young people around sustainability. We believe it’s our responsibility to do so, and this partnership is the next big step in that direction,” she added.

Earlier this year, Minecraft project Rivercraft launched that aims to help teach young people about climate change, the environment, and flooding while Ubisoft has announced it is set to bring awareness to climate change and climate-related issues using in-game events within Riders Republic and Skull & Bones.