Game shows students perils of Underground Railroad

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Elementary school students can learn what it was like to be a runaway slave traveling the Underground Railroad through an online game developed at Ball State University.

History professor Ron Morris and computer science professor Paul Gestwicki led the yearlong effort to create "The Underground Railroad in the Ohio River Valley." The project involved about 60 students from the history, elementary education, telecommunications and computer science departments, The Star Press reported.

In the game, which is geared toward fourth-graders, students are runaway slaves setting out on a perilous journey north along the Underground Railroad through Indiana and other Midwestern states. They must make decisions about which way to go to avoid capture.

Morris said the creators decided to develop a game around the Underground Railroad to give teachers a new resource for a popular subject.

"This was an inexpensive way to get something new into the hands of teachers," he said.

The game comes with a downloadable curriculum that was created by Ball State elementary education students. But because it's available online, it isn't limited to teachers and students, Morris said, noting that parents can share it with their children if the game isn't provided at their school.

The game opens with a screen that explains that players won't always like the decisions they make and that there is no guarantee of a happy ending to the game.

The game is the second created in the immersive learning classes led by Morris and Gestwicki. The pair is working with the Indiana State Museum on another game that should be available in May.

The Underground Railroad game went online Jan. 3 and is already drawing support from parents like Taylor Hughes, who said she welcomes another opportunity for her child to learn about slavery and the Underground Railroad.

"If it helps children understand even just a little bit more about what slaves went through, I think that's important," she said.