Phys.org publishes release on phytoplankton app, educational game

Phys.org carried a University of Maine news release about a new app and educational game inspired by phytoplankton. Developed by Gene Felice, an assistant professor of new media and intermedia at UMaine, the app is called Phyto Heroes and explores phytoplankton as a scientific and artistic research subject through a game designed for third through fifth grade students, the release states. The goal is to show how environmental factors like pH, temperature and nitrogen levels affect the ocean. Felice worked with UMaine developers and Jennifer Parker from the University of California Santa Cruz, with funding from Maine Sea Grant, the National Endowment for the Arts, Epsilon and Alliance Data.