The Oregon Trail Returns To Schools In Minecraft: Education Edition

Many kids who attended school in the 1980s and 1990s will probably have fond memories of The Oregon Trail. An educational game meant to show children what life was like for the 19th century Pioneer family traveling the trail to the US west coast, The Oregon Trail is something of a legendary game these days. Though it's received number remakes throughout the years, The Oregon Trail will soon get a new lease on life with schoolchildren, and it's all thanks to Minecraft.

Specifically, we have Minecraft: Education Edition to thank for this revival of The Oregon Trail. Microsoft has partnered with The Oregon Trail publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to bring the full game into Minecraft: Education Edition, allowing kids to play the full Oregon Trail experience through a platform they're already comfortable with.

This is essentially The Oregon Trail: Enhanced Edition, as not only does it use Minecraft as the backbone of the adventure, but it comes with lesson plans for educators based on the trek from Independence, Missouri to the west coast. These activities cover a wide range of subjects, from tasking kids to figure out when the best month depart is to determining what kind items they afford to take along and which they can't.

As detailed in a Minecraft Education blog post today, the new support Minecraft: Education Edition is garnering doesn't end with The Oregon Trail. Players will soon be able to adventure through a world called Fluffletopolis, a story that won a writing competition hosted by Minecraft and the Roald Dahl Estate earlier in the year. In addition, Minecraft is also partnering with the Smithsonian for a new Education Edition module called Museum of Me.

So, there are certainly some big happenings in the world of Minecraft: Education Edition, from reviving old educational favorites to bringing one student's story to live. These new modules and features are available in Minecraft: Education Edition beginning today, so if your kid comes home from school talking about The Oregon Trail, you'll know why.