Within Vatican City stands the magnificent St Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world. More than 2,000 years old, the ancient history and wonders of St Peter’s can now be explored directly from classrooms across our Diocese through an exciting new Minecraft Education world.
Minecraft Education is a version of the popular game specifically designed for use in schools. It offers tools and features that allow teachers to harness the creativity of Minecraft to teach everything from reading to chemistry to coding – and now ancient architecture!
The Catholic Schools’ Digital Innovation and Learning (DIAL) team drew upon the expertise of Microsoft and the Minecraft Education team to deliver this exciting new technology resource – Peter is Here: AI for Cultural Heritage.
This immersive program transports students into history, where they use simulated AI tools to take on the role of caretakers restoring St Peter’s Basilica while uncovering its rich cultural and religious significance.
Students travel through time, taking a hands-on approach to cultural restoration tasks as part of Sanpietrini, the dedicated team responsible for maintaining St Peter’s.
Earlier this year, a webinar introduced Catholic School teachers to the resource, outlining lesson plans, student workbooks, and educator guides. St Benedict’s Primary School, Edgeworth piloted the program with great success, providing valuable feedback for the final rollout.
Fast forward to December and St Joseph’s Primary School, East Maitland introduced the final version of Peter is Here in library lessons for Years 3-6 achieving learnings across history, art, STEM, and digital literacy. Click through the images in the gallery below to see the program in action.
“Peter is Here was an amazing world – you can see the effort and every intricate detail that was put into it. It was so fun to participate in, and the instructions were nice and easy to understand. It was so cool to experience St Peter’s Basilica without being there, we learnt about all the awesome relics in the Basilica,” said Elsie, Yr 5 student at St Joseph’s Primary School, East Maitland.
Teachers were equally impressed:
“Overall, it was brilliant – such a fun and exciting way for the students to explore important historical places digitally. The build is enormous and so detailed, and I loved that with each step, the students would unlock interesting facts about the history and religious significance of St Peter’s Basilica,” said Sarah Ziemba, Teacher Librarian at St Joseph’s.
The resource is available to all schools across our Diocese via Peter Is Here: AI for Cultural Heritage | Minecraft Education.
Students from St Joseph’s Primary School, East Maitland experiencing St Peter’s Basilica through Minecraft Education
