Abstract:

As an effective means of involvement and motivation, the game represents, due to its intrinsic characteristics of interactivity and versatility, a very appropriate tool for scientific dissemination. It allows you to transmit content, stimulate reflections, engage in dialogue and dismantle preconceptions with an informal and at the same time engaging approach. The competition element increases its effectiveness.
The use of the game is part of an experiment conducted by some INGV scientists for the creation of new dissemination tools in the field of Earth Sciences and risk education.
With 'Catch the Plate' we want to draw attention to the correlation between the limits of the tectonic plates in which the lithosphere of our planet is fragmented and the occurrence of earthquakes and volcanoes.
Catch the Plate was designed to be conducted even by non-expert personnel; if played with the presence of a researcher, who enriches the scientific contents, the game assumes the value of a didactic laboratory.
It can be adapted to different age groups: children are simply asked to place placeholders on the plate boundaries that depict symbols used by the scientific community to indicate the epicenters of earthquakes or volcanic buildings; the older ones are asked questions that require knowledge of geography; multiple levels of insight are possible in response to the responsiveness of the public.
On a board depicting the puzzle of the main tectonic plates, the competitors will place the epicenters of the earthquakes, the volcanoes and the names of the plates by answering a series of questions.
Two decks of cards, referring to the two macro topics earthquakes and volcanoes, are arranged upside down on the bench. Throwing a die allows you to decide which card to draw: three icons, earthquakes, volcanoes, plates, present on the faces of the die indicate the topic to be addressed. The papers contain questions regarding events that occurred in past ages and are well known to the scientific community. The answer to each question involves placing a pawn on the board in the correct geographical location.
If the roll of the dice selects the plaques icon, the competitor draws a placeholder with the name of one of the 15 plaques represented on the board; the placeholder must be correctly positioned on the relative plate.
Score:
- 3 points if you answer correctly right away (the position of the volcano, earthquake or plate)
- 2 points if you ask for help with a clue (eg if the card is about "1960 earthquake with its epicenter in Valdivia" you could ask which country Valdivia belongs to).
- 0 points if you give up and let the opposing team guess which, in case of correct answer, gets 1 point.

In the event of an error, the card or the plaque placeholder will be inserted back into the deck ready to be drawn again. Each team has 30 seconds of time, marked by a timer, to correctly position each pawn on the board. The team with the highest score wins.

Keywords:

Tectonic plates, Earth Sciences, game.