True fact: the Great Fire of London started in 1666 when a baker in Pudding Lane was playing real-life Minecraft and accidentally dropped a bucket of lava on the floor.
Okay, okay, that may not be strict historical truth… But in 2016, Minecraft HAS helped children learn – a bit – about how fire can spread. If you haven’t mistakenly turned at least one carefully-crafted Minecraft mansion into cinders, you’re not playing properly…
But back to the Great Fire of 1666. The Museum of London is using Minecraft to recreate the famous city conflagration for modern-day children to learn from, with three free downloadable maps for the PC and Mac versions of Minecraft.
“Titled Great Fire 1666, the game will allow the museum to tell the story of the Great Fire like never before, as players can walk down the streets of London, interact with the very people of 1666, combat the flames, and rebuild their own vision of the capital,” explained the Museum in its announcement this morning.
Minecrafter Adam “Wizard Keen” Clarke – who we recently saw talk at the Children’s Media Conference – is involved in the project, along with Minecraft experts Blockworks and Dragnoz. The first map launches next week on 29 July, based on Wenceslaus Hollar’s map of burnt London, which is part of the Museum’s collection.
“Featuring notable landmarks such as London Bridge, the old St Paul’s Cathedral, and the infamous Pudding Lane, a treasure hunt across the city will give players the chance to explore the streets in search of audio clips, introducing gamers to the factors that played a crucial role in the events that unfolded, including the long dry summer, wooden houses, narrow streets, and the ways in which people lived.”
September will see the second map, which will tell the story of the actual fire itself, complete with firefighting opportunities for young Minecraft players. Then, in February 2017, the third map will get them rebuilding London after the flames, inspired by actual architectural plans from the time.
(I suspect St Paul’s Cathedral will end up with a historically-inaccurate chicken and sheep enclosure in its crypt, if my sons have anything to do with it…)
The launch of the first map is perfect timing for the summer holidays here in the UK, and the Museum of London is also holding an exhibition – it kicks off on 23 July – called Fire! Fire! all about the Great Fire. Kids will be able to play with the first map then visit the exhibition. Or, indeed, do it the other way around.
“The Great Fire of London is one of the most popular topics within our learning programme, which currently reaches about 130,000 schoolchildren each year, and we hope that Great Fire 1666 will create a fun learning experience that can engage every young person in this fascinating story,” said the Museum’s digital learning coordinator Joshua Blair.
I hope so too: the map and exhibition are already on my summer to-do list with my children.
More to read from Apps Playground
• Why Minecraft in schools is a new education trend
• Minecraft beach challenge will teach kids water safety
• Why I love playing Minecraft with my kids