pokemonGo but instead of catching pokemons you can catch ancient fossils?
Yes, that's basically what defines PaleoGo. This new app, launched this year, combines the genre of entertainment and education, and offers players a new way to explore the streets of Villaverde and discover the history of each of these places
The project has been presented by the National Museum of Natural Sciences in collaboration with the Complutense University of Madrid, and its first downloads have been successful in the educational environment.
But what is this application and how does it work?
we tell you all about it here!
what is PaleoGo?
PaleoGo is a free digital application that allows you to explore different neighbourhoods in Madrid, discovering their fossils, biology and the environment in which the animals that inhabited the area thousands of years ago lived.
This educational tool for electronic devices not only shows these contents, but also additional ones related to the history and cultural heritage of each neighbourhood. In its latest version in the Villaverde neighbourhood of Madrid, it showed additional contents such as the Roman villa of Villaverde Bajo.
how does PaleoGo work?
The application has two very different characteristics: it allows the player to have a good time and, at the same time, it serves as an educational tool, as the user discovers relevant information about the objects he or she is looking for while playing.
The last case we can give as an example is the application in the neighbourhood of Villaverde. After starting the exploration in the mobile application, the user must move around the different places in the neighbourhood to discover different fossils or animals and capture them.
Once the animal has been found and captured (in this case), it is automatically saved to your collection, and from there you can go through different places to complete your collection.
Another important aspect is that while you play you are not alone, as you are accompanied by a professional who specialises in this field and will inform you about different things. In this case the example we use is that of Nieves, a palaeontologist who knows about fossils and all the species that inhabited Villaverde.
Paleo in the Neighbourhood: everything you need to know about this project
This application has revolutionised the educational world because with it has come a completely nutritious and didactic day for schools in Madrid: what we know as Paleo in the Neighbourhood.
On 12 and 20 June, the Los Rosales and Juan de la Cierva schools opened their doors to families and neighbours. 150 fifth-grade students discovered up to eight different species of large vertebrates that roamed the forests and estuaries of the region 350,000 years ago.
To help the pupils, the scientific knowledge of the project has been included in the school curriculum, as have the research projects that will travel around the classrooms and corridors of their respective schools.
The first edition of Paleo in the Neighbourhood will conclude in June with open house sessions at schools and community centres, and colleagues, family members and neighbours will discuss paleontology at both centres.
if you want to download the app and try it for yourself, click on this link and start touring Madrid's neighbourhoods!
