NOAA launches online game

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has launched a new online game to give science instruction to students at  the fourth through seventh grade levels. 

The game, announced March 17, takes place inside the ecosystem of an estuary on the West Coast of the United States. By following a young girl named Valerie, players interact with Oscar the sea otter, and Claminator, a geoduck clam.

To succeed, players must learn about the factors that produce healthy estuaries and why estuaries are essential to ocean life and to humans. Students recycle and clean up trash, remove obstructions in waterways and battle pollution monsters to restore the sea otter's home.

The game, “WaterLife: Where Rivers Meet the Sea,” was produced by NOAA’s National Ocean Service. It was developed through a partnership with Montgomery (Md.) College’s Computer Gaming and Simulation program and designed in cooperation with NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

View the game here.