Coronavirus canceled their geology field camp. Professor recreated it with Minecraft

Geology students at Wichita State are trading their hiking boots for laptops this summer, in a field class with a socially-distanced twist.

When the coronavirus pandemic made the field geology course in its traditional format unfeasible, William Parcell, associate professor and chair of the geology department at WSU, turned to a creative solution. This year, field camp will take place virtually, via the popular computer game Minecraft.

Each summer, Parcell and senior geology students from WSU and other universities travel to Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin for the capstone field geology course. There, they spend nearly a month putting their geologic knowledge to the test, often forming lifelong friendships in the process. Students hike together across sagebrush deserts and up steep mountains to examine rocks and collect data that they use to piece together the complex history of the landscape.

For many, field camp is a highlight of their education.

“It was the best experience of my life,” said Becky Nesel, who took the course last summer.

Guadalupe Gonzalez, a senior geology major at WSU enrolled in this summer’s class, has been looking forward to field camp for years. “It’s what ties everything together,” she said.

The mental and physical challenges of solving geologic mysteries while hiking through rugged landscapes make the class beloved by students, but also make it a difficult course to offer remotely.

“It’s about exploration,” Parcell said. “Just having videos, and lecturing, and then doing a test doesn’t really get at the heart of what field geology is really all about.”

That’s where Minecraft comes in. The adventure-style computer game is a fan-favorite for its blocky graphics and adaptability. These qualities also make it a perfect, if unorthodox, vehicle for an online geology class.

Parcell originally started developing a virtual version of field camp years ago, hoping to make geology more accessible for students who may not be able to spend weeks hiking around the mountainous wilderness. The novel coronavirus pandemic provided an impetus to get the online field class up and running this summer.

Using satellite photography and topographic maps of the Bighorn Basin region, Parcell created a series of Minecraft worlds that mimic the real field camp.

Students will be able to do much of the same exploration and data collection that they would normally do, with virtual compasses and rock hammers replacing their real-life tools. Long drives through the desert happen instantaneously in the game, and strenuous hikes won’t leave students out of breath, but links to 360 degree photos scattered throughout the digital world help ground students to the real landmarks emulated by the game.

The game also features a base camp area where students can interact in real time, complete with cabins, a mess hall, and a campfire. Parcell hopes these touches will preserve some of the social aspects that make field camp so memorable to its alumni.

“It’s not the same, but it’s a nod to the spirit of it,” Parcell said.

Though it’s disappointing to miss out on the in-person field camp experience, student excitement is growing.

“I’m dying to see how me hiking around these virtual spots is going to go,” said Gonzalez. “Who else is going to be able to say they did their field camp in the form of a Minecraft video game?”

This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 12:00 AM.