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Press Releases
Minnesota Zoo to Launch WolfQuest 2.5 Video Game
Apple Valley, MINN –October 4, 2011: The Minnesota Zoo will launch the next version of its video game – WolfQuest 2.5: Survival of the Pack Deluxe” on October 5, 2011. The upgrades that helped create the new version were selected based on results of the Zoo’s 2010 “Big Idea” contest. During the Big Idea contest, two suggestions – including a “wolf rest” and a “weather/time” component – were chosen to be added to the game. Selected from over 900 entries, these additions are expected to enhance gameplay and educational impact. Minnesota Zoo Assistant Director of Education and WolfQuest Project Manager Grant Spickelmier says, “It’s been so gratifying to see these players come full circle—from being interested in wolves, to playing WolfQuest and learning more through the online community to now being put in the role of ‘game designers’ and actually impacting the learning of future players through their additions to the game. We are really looking forward to this next version.” Since its inception, WolfQuest has received over 1 million unique downloads from over 350,000 online members. Since its launch in 2007, WolfQuest has received a number of awards including the 2010 Education Award, a bronze medal in the games category of the 2009 MUSE Awards, and the Editor’s Choice Award by Children’s Technology Review. It was also selected by the National Science Foundation to present at the 2009 Senate Education Technology Showcase in Washington D.C. An immersive, 3D wildlife simulation game, WolfQuest was developed by the Minnesota Zoo and St. Paul-based eduweb, an award-winning developer of digital learning games. The game allows players to learn about wolf ecology by living the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone National Park. WolfQuest is made possible through grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) with local support provided by Best Buy Children’s Foundation, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and the ADC Foundation. For more information on WolfQuest, visit wolfquest.org or contact Project Director Grant Spickelmier at gspicke@mail.state.mn.us or 952.431.9226. The Minnesota Zoo is located in Apple Valley, just minutes south of Mall of America. For more information, call 952.431.9500 or visit mnzoo.org. The Minnesota Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and an institutional member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).
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