Want to learn more about Mercury? Play the game!

Are you interested in mercury science and policy? Do you teach an introductory science or environmental issues class and want to include a science-policy element? Do you want to explore science-policy interactions with your colleagues or lab group? We’ve created the Mercury Game to teach people about the role of science in international environmental policy making in an interactive and fun environment — and it’s free to download!

The mercury game is a role-play simulation for ten players aimed at scientists, students and decision makers. Playing the game will help participants explore the consequences of representing scientific uncertainty in various ways in a policy context. The game focuses on the credibility of various sources of technical information, strategies for representing risk and uncertainty, and the balance between scientific and political considerations. The game also requires players to grapple with politics – it explores the dynamic between the global “North” (the developed world) and the global “South” (the developing world) at the heart of most treaty-making difficulties.

For more information on the game, see this video, featuring our own Leah Stokes. Leah wrote the game along with Noelle Selin and Lawrence Susskind at MIT.

 

 

 

This entry was posted in Leah Stokes, Noelle Selin on by .

About Noelle Selin

I am Assistant Professor of Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a joint appointment as Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. I am also affiliated with the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. My research focuses on using atmospheric chemistry modeling to inform decision-making strategies on air pollution, climate change and mercury pollution.

One thought on “Want to learn more about Mercury? Play the game!

  1. Jimmy

    Congratulations on developing the Mercury Game! It looks like something I’d like to play. I’m not a teacher. I’m still a student but I think our Environmental Policy class would totally benefit from this! I’m going to share this blog and the game with my class tomorrow so thanks a lot for offering it!

    Reply

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