Geography lessons go virtual: Danish government creates Minecraft version of ENTIRE country to help teachers

Entire country was recreated by government's mapping department

Minecraft lesson plans for teachers also created in bid to make education more accessible

The Danish government has recreated the entire country in the hit computer game Minecraft.

The first country to be fully transplanted into the blocky Minecraft games, the government hopes it could help make lessons more fun for students.

It has even produced a series of lesson plans for teachers to help them navigate the virtual version of their country.

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Denmark's Ministry of the Environment has created a full-scale model of the country in Minecraft for players to explore.

The downloadable model consists of 4,000 billion blocks and requires one terabyte of storage space.

WHAT IS MINECRAFT? Minecraft was created in 2009. At the start of the game, a player is put into a 'virtually infinite game world.'

They can then walk around different terrains, including mountains, forests and caves. Players can also fly up in the air for a birds-eye view of the landscape.

Players are given blocks and tools to build towns and cities.

As a player progresses they can earn advanced tools and building blocks in different materials.

The game was initially made for the PC but there are now Xbox 360 and mobile versions available.

The model consists of about 4000 billion bricks, and takes up about 1TB (1000 Gigabyte) if you want to download the entire country.

'We have constructed Denmark online in Minecraft, so that young people can plant their own forests, establish a lake, riding school, biogas plant, wind turbine, and so on,' said , said Kirsten Brosbøl, Danish Minister for the Environment.



'The imagination is the only the limit.



'This is our way of making a link between the digital and the natural worlds.'

It was created by Simon Kokkendorf and Thor Bjørn Nielsen from Geodatastyrelsen, the Danish mapping arm of the government.

They used publicly available data on the country - from elevation models to information about roads and buildings and 'translated' it into Minecraft's characteristic bricks.

The pair also built a navigation system so visitors can easily find their own neighbourhood in the model.

In future, Danish school children and others will be able to record in the game plants and animals that they have seen or found in nature.



They will also be able to explore nature and landscapes as they appear in real life.

'Uou can ‘go for a walk´ in the countryside anywhere in Denmark, and you can view any place in Denmark roughly in the same way as with Google Street View,' the Agency said.

Ørestad school in Copenhagen has been testing the system to teach pupils geography and maths.



'In the old days, the teacher would roll down the old map of Denmark in the class room and have the students slave over the names of the various regions of Denmark,' said Katrin Kristensen, a teacher at Ørestad school.



In future, Danish school children and others will be able to record in the game plants and animals that they have seen or found in nature.

'Now Denmark is available right there on the children’s computers or tablets, underpinning the aim of using digital solutions in teaching.

'We already have good experience using Minecraft in teaching maths, for example.



'With the ‘real Denmark’ now available as a Minecraft world, we will have even more opportunities to stimulate learning.



'Pupils think it is much more fun when they are working with their own house, street, and so on.'