Zaragoza monuments such as the Basilica del Pilar or the Goya Museum cross the metaverse and arrive in Minecraft

Zaragoza is a city full of history, culture and, above all, a strong artistic legacy that has crossed the boundaries of time itself. However, when it seemed that this potential had reached its ceiling, Fundación Ibercaja and Microsoft have shown otherwise. The historical legacy of the Aragonese capital, through monuments such as the 
Basilica del Pilar or the Goya Museum, has crossed the limits of the physical to reach the 
Minecraft metaverse.

There is no doubt that the popular construction game is one of the great leisure choices for players of all ages. But, since 2016, this virtual world also has an educational aspect through its didactic version Minecraft Education. This modality is designed based on the Game-Based Learning methodology , which teaches introductory knowledge to digital skills such as programming, as well as important aspects such as organization, time management, or teamwork.

Minecraft Education has a large catalogue of prefabricated maps that simulate various locations in our world, as well as historical events that happened centuries ago. And, in this case, the city of Zaragoza has been chosen to become the platform’s new educational map. The reason for this? The framework of the “ Awakening STEM vocations through Minecraft Education ” conferences, which have been taking place since last October and will end in January of this year 2025.

PUTTING YOURSELF IN GOYA’S SHOES

The conferences aim to boost the digital skills of around 1,250 children in the fifth and sixth grades of Primary School from 25 public schools in Zaragoza , La Muela and Villamayor de Gállego. All of this through a programme that has been providing 50 workshops in educational centres, several online conferences for families and teachers and, of course, one of the main proposals: this Minecraft map inspired by Zaragoza .

The map is part of the contest “ Art in the Cloud: Exploring Goya in Minecraft ”, which brings the work and life of Francisco de Goya closer by putting students in the shoes of the artist in Minecraft. During their adventure on this digital map, students will visit different places such as the Basilica of Our Lady of Pilar, the Goya Museum of the Ibercaja Foundation or different municipalities in Zaragoza related to his life and work.

During the course of this odyssey, the young students will have to face different challenges in which they will work on practical skills to understand the importance of preserving, approaching and respecting the culture and historical heritage of the region from a dynamic perspective. The winners of this competition will be announced at the final in-person event, which will take place in April and where certificates and prizes will be awarded to the best projects in the competition.

SKILLS ARE INCREASINGLY NECESSARY

As pointed out by Carmen Campos, Head of Education Programmes at Fundación Ibercaja , “this initiative reinforces our objective of promoting the development of skills in schoolchildren and young people, with a special emphasis on STEM, as well as raising awareness of the figure and legacy of Francisco de Goya and the cultural wealth that Zaragoza holds.”

The conferences also have the collaboration of the Government of Aragon and the City Council of Zaragoza, and the entities specialized in digital education, Letcraft and PantallasAmigas, as a cooperative proposal to promote digital skills and abilities. Aspects that are increasingly required in the world of work, through branches such as 
Artificial Intelligence or programming.