A fun and educational new app has just been released for kids who want to become archaeologists!
The new device turns the archaeological excavation experience into a fun and informative adventure. Kids can ‘dig’ for artifacts, piece together ancient scrolls or unearthed objects, and even go on a ‘virtual hunt’ for Israel’s many hidden treasures. The app that was actually created by the state of Israel’s Archaeological Authority is available on both IOS (iPad and iPhone) and Android.
The app is suited for English speaking kids between the ages 7 and 11. According to the Antiquities Authority, these young users get the “feel for what archaeologists do as they experience the excitement of discovery and the creativity and skills involved in solving mysteries from the distant past.”
The game gets the young players to ‘dig deep’ into the world of archeology by tapping, swiping and clicking their way through jugs, cisterns, ossuaries, coins, tools, mosaics, and other valuable archaeological finds. Additional features include translated portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls which one can read or hear through the Dig Quest’s audio narration, a puzzle of the Dead Sea Scrolls and an interactive quiz with 30+ playing levels based on ancient mosaics. Players take on the role of Gabe, an Indiana Jones-style archaeologist who, as the IAA said, is “modelled on real-life Israeli archaeologists.”
Aside from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the app also introduces some lesser known historical treasures – the Lod Mosaic, a Roman mosaic that was discovered in Lod during highway construction in 1996. The mosaic, measuring 50 by 27 feet, is one of the best-preserved mosaics ever found in Israel and was fully unearthed only in 2009. It has since been displayed in museums such as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, the Field Museum in Chicago and Berlin’s Altes Museum. The app features a game in which players identify various figures and drawings on the mosaic – with the challenges getting more difficult as the levels progress.
The game was developed by Crater House, a San Francisco-based game studio that specializes in advanced gaming apps. The app according to the IAA is a great way for kids and adults to get to know the work of the authority, which is “the keeper of Israel’s state treasures, including nearly 2 million archaeological objects, among them the entire collection of Dead Sea Scrolls, and more than 30,000 archaeological sites.”