Project Hercules

In Project Hercules, you play Astrid, an astronomer in the distant future, working to identify objects in the night sky and uncover the mystery of an impending celestial event.

Play the game

At a Glance

Project Hercules is designed to spark excitement and curiosity about astronomy by communicating the professional practices of observational astronomers, including the use of instruments like visible telescopes, photometers, and spectrograms, as well as participation in a community of scientists. Players will learn about technologies of astronomical observation, the data they are able to collect, and the various types of celestial objects they allow us to study.

Target Audience

  • Grade Level: 8-12

Time

The game includes six sections: a prologue, five “core” levels, a finale, and an epilogue. Many players can complete the game in 45-minutes. However, they can also use a save code to return to a game in progress, making it usable within a typical classroom context.

Academic Standards:

Terminology and Concepts:
Develop an understanding of basic astronomy-based terminology and phenomena.

Gather and Interpret Data:
Gather and interpret astronomical data using a variety of tools.

Compare and Contrast:
Compare and contrast different types of celestial objects.

Identify and Classify:
Identify and classify different stars by their measured properties.

Mathematical Deduction:
Develop the ability to use a logic grid to solve multi-variable logic puzzles.

NGSS Standards:

MS-ESS1-3.
Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.

Disciplinary Core Ideas - ESS1.A:
The Universe and Its Stars.

Disciplinary Core Ideas HS-ESS1-3.
Communicate scientific ideas about the way stars, over their life cycle, produce elements.

Partners

Project Hercules was created through a partnership between Field Day, The Department of Public Instruction, The Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC), and an amazing group of Wisconsin librarians and teachers. Special thanks to Jim Lattis and the Washburn Observatory (at UW-Madison).