Dinosaur National Monument is popping up in the gaming world if you can believe it. A research report from the University of Birmingham about assessing the educational potential of video games, analyzes the representation of paleontology in hundreds of video games. In that research report it mentions the game ‘American Truck Simulator’ in which “gamers” can explore certain regions of the United States rich in fossils, including Dinosaur National Monument.
Co-author of the report, Jake Atterby, claims “audiences can subconsciously learn from the media they consume, including depictions of our science that are deliberately exaggerated for entertainment.” The study defined a number of factors which may help or hinder a video game’s effectiveness in promoting paleontology to a wider audience. Jake further states, “This paper is about how the science of paleontology is portrayed to the public, at a time when many people get a lot of their knowledge from media and entertainment…It is important for paleontologists to
understand the public’s perception of our science to help when we communicate our
research.”
