Quantum Realm is a minigame within Minecraft. As a player, you enter the University of Amsterdam digitally and are sucked into the Quantum Realm. There, you have to solve eight quantum puzzles to get out safely. Quantum Realm was developed at the suggestion of Bart Groeneveld, who works in science communication as head of Outreach.

"My idea was that I wanted to reach a target group that is young (10 - 14 years old). After all, that fits in with the Quantum Delta NL growth fund programme to appeal to the youngest generation, to inform them and ultimately show them the possibilities of an education that has something to do with quantum. That begins with kindling enthusiasm. Minecraft seemed an excellent tool to employ.

Just when I had let go of the idea a bit, it turned out that Dimitri van Esch - involved in Quantum Amsterdam - was also running around with ideas to excite young audiences through appealing stories about quantum. Coincidentally, his son started Fun Creators and also has a licence to build Minecraft games that can be submitted to Microsoft (the platform’s administrator). 1 and 1 then make 3 actually.

The next step is for me to have teaching materials developed by interns from the Master’s in Science Communication in Groningen, to provide a bit more depth to the game."

Fun Creators is an official Minecraft Marketplace Partner, creating content within Minecraft since 2013. Quantum Realm was created with funding from Quantum Delta NLExternal link.

You'll find the Quantum Realm on the official websiteExternal link.