Learning Games Lab, New Mexico State University

As we prepare to release our first two Virtual Reality apps, some reflections on the taxonomy of VR interactions: www.innovativemediablog.nmsu.edu/post/what-we...

image of prickly pear cactus with label educational media tools and title making prickly pear cactus juice and URL innovativemediablog.nmsu.edu

For those in regions where cactus fruits are ripening, a reminder that there are several effective ways to make and store juice from prickly pears! www.innovativemediablog.nmsu.edu/post/making-...

Person wearing VR headset while being photographed

Photography *of* photography! We're getting ready to promote our new release Nutrition Counselor VR. It's hard to capture someone playing virtual reality and also the visuals of what's happening in the application! Excited for today's photo session with our university photographer.

Image of a bowl of mutton stew with text that reads, "This includes any typical stew: mutton stew, posole, corn stew, bone stew, green chile stew, caldo de res, menudo, chicken noodle soup, etc." On the side, portion sizes of vegetables (1), grains (1), protein from meat (0.5), and protein from beans (0.5) are given.

Our free interactive nutrition tool, MyPlateMyDay.org, includes foods that are traditional to New Mexico and our region. Examples include combination foods like mutton stew, posole, chile rellenos, or Indian tacos, as well as calabacitas, nopalitos, frybread, tortillas and conchas!

Laptops on table with various games loaded

Laptops on table with various games loaded

Flashback to this photo from Play, Make, Learn last month in Wisconsin. It was great to see our game Cozy River Valley at the demo table with other finalists for the Gee Awards. Congratulations to Velvet 89, the winner in the small studios category.

YouTube video by nmsuaces Carbon Credit Markets for Farmers and Ranchers: An Overview

Once the program-specific practices are put in place, the carbon credit company or third-party company steps in to measure how much carbon is being stored in the soil.

youtu.be/xb-kt3JPLSs?...

IMRE Blog Post titled "Our Award-Winning Products, 2025" with an illustration of a character picking crops from a field with a purple stamp center right that reads, "Relevant news: awards" with a white checkmark in the center, At the bottom of the image is a website "innovativemediablog.nmsu.edu"

The Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences, convenes annually to provide awards and feedback through the ACE Critique & Awards Program. This year has been a success for our products: www.innovativemediablog.nmsu.edu/.../our-awar....

Produce TRAINer: Food safety toolkit for produce farm workers Free, online lessons that farm workers can use to learn and practice risk assessment on produce farms

September means harvest season for fall produce. Check out our free, interactive worker training resource, Produce TRAINer, which focuses on risk assessment and SOPs for small produce farms. Learn more in this blog post by @pnmartinez.bsky.social

www.innovativemediablog.nmsu.edu/post/produce...

Title screen showing a woman holding the leadrope of a horse. Text reads: This digital publication has been peer-reviewed by external experts.

Stay Safe With Horses helps build understanding of horse behavior to help users learn to handle horses safely and effectively. Topics include approaching a horse in a stall, catching and haltering, leading, and turning out a horse in a group. staysafewithhorses.org

Welcome to CLOVER Empower all young people to find their spark. CURRICULUM CLOVER creates impactful learning experiences in partnership with 100+ top-tier universities. 260+ online interactive activities CLOVER has int...

We are pleased to announce that our interactive module Stay Safe Working With Horses has been featured among national 4-H resources on Clover: 4-h.org/clover/about/

Since Clover by 4-H requires a login, see the next post for a link to the free module.

Pamela N Martinez

Earlier this summer, Learning Games Lab faculty member Dr. Pamela N. Martinez was awarded the prestigious USDA E. Kika de la Garza Fellowship, from the USDA, which brings together experts from Hispanic Serving Institutions to explore workforce development initiatives. Congratulations, Pamela!

From the article abstract: "In an online survey, compared to those who viewed an Extension website providing information on genetic modification, consumers who played the game were more likely to believe they learned something and correctly answered a question regarding deceptive labeling."

A recent article in the Journal of Applied Economics Teaching Resources explores the impact of Unpeeled, an educational game created by our studio that teaches consumers about food marketing labels, such as non-GMO labels, to inform economic choices. www.aetrjournal.org/UserFiles/fi...

Do you have what it takes to lead the squad? Use your team of heroes to research, educate, heal, and protect people. Keep the community from getting sicker!
outbreaksquad.com
#kids #kidgame #health #superhero

Night of the Living Debt Keep them at bay with regular payments. If they get you, it could lead to a low credit score and affect your chance at financial survival. The high interest zombies are the hardest to ward off!

Also available on web at nightofthelivingdebt.org !

This interactive module helps learners practice preservation practices for scientific study. Collections are important to science, and each preserved insect gives a snapshot of its population at the time it was collected.
insectcollectionlab.nmsu.edu/index.html
#insects #education

Video Capabilities at Innovative Media Research and Extension We have two types of video services that are closely related. One service is designed to produce in-depth educational and promotional videos that usually range from 2 to 5 minutes, sometimes longer. O...

Video production is one of our specialties, and we've put a lot of thought into what information fits best with which format. Is your educational topic in need of a comprehensive overview or a quick social media reel? Learn more from our blog: www.innovativemediablog.nmsu.edu/post/video-c...

Comic-style poster with dramatic text introducing 'Treadsylvania'—a fictional land where evil has returned. Two serious-looking characters stand below the title. New Mexico State University’s Learning Games Lab logo is in the bottom right corner.

A fun, engaging comic book, designed to help learners ages 8-18 understand how to ride All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) safely. Treadsylvania isn’t your traditional ATV training program, but instead, it is a fun, visually appealing adventure story.

treadsylvania.com

Game Over Gopher is an exciting tower defense game built on a coordinate grid. Players must defend the large prized carrot by feeding waves of hungry gophers. This game helps middle schoolers understand how to graph data points on a coordinate grid. mathsnacks.com

YouTube video by nmsuaces Carbon Credit Markets for Farmers and Ranchers: An Overview

Carbon credit markets give farmers and ranchers a chance to gain extra income by using sustainable practices that pull carbon out of the air and help to store it in the ground.

Learn more about how these programs work with this video from our Dept. of Extension Economics: youtu.be/xb-kt3JPLSs?...

Two students at a table hold up a colorful 3D model of a DNA double helix inside a classroom at the NMSU Learning Games Lab, with one student seated and the other standing beside him.

Learn more about how the community check in functions to create an atmosphere of cooperation and trust, in the Learning Games Lab youth sessions.

learninggameslabtoolkit.org

promotional post for the game Night of the Living Debt with an illustration of green zombie characters surrounding a female presenting character that holds a card with the words 'Zombank'.

Survive the zombie outbreak by managing your finances. Do you have what it takes? Use a credit card, get college loans, buy a car, rent a house: It's your decision.

itunes.apple.com/.../night-of....

#games #educationaltools #zombies #debt #finances

Math Snacks isn't a curriculum, but a series of activities you can use with the curriculum you are already using in grades 4-8. Math Snacks materials address critical content including number sense, ratio, proportion, measurement, scale factor, and pre-algebra.
mathsnacks.com
#nmsu #educationaltools

characters from Math Snacks pointing at the logo from each direction

Our flagship product, Math Snacks, is a suite of animations and mini-games designed to help students grasp concepts in middle school. Each snack presents a mathematical concept. Free for use in a classroom or on your own. Learn more at mathsnacks.com
#K12 #gamebasedlearning #mathed #edgames #gbl

Virtual Labs Students can learn basic laboratory techniques and practice methods used by lab technicians and researchers in a variety of careers, using specific food science lab processes.

Our free interactive food science modules model lab skills and concepts relevant to various life sciences, including using a microscope, testing for aflatoxin, culturing bacteria, measuring and adjusting pH, and using various types of lab equipment. #K12ed #college
virtuallabs.nmsu.edu

Theme Park Kitchen supports food safety learning for middle school youth. This fun, multi-level game teaches safe food handling, including handwashing, cooking foods to the proper temperature and avoiding cross-contamination. Play it for free with the link in bio! #nmsu #gaming #education

youth playing a game on iPad

What is the goal of youth engaging with screens in the Learning Games Lab? To use digital games and tools mindfully, purposefully and effectively.
For more about how we accomplish this together, read more in the Learning Games Lab Toolkit: learninggameslabtoolkit.org

Promotional graphic for interactive labs on water testing and sampling, featuring molecule illustrations and logos for CONSERVE and NMSU Learning Games Lab.

Farmers and scientists collect and test water samples from water sources including ponds, streams, rivers and canals, or from water treatment plants, to make sure they are safe for use.
Learn how to sample water for testing here: conserve.nmsu.edu

#educationaltools #instructive #safetyfirst

This month we hosted two week-long Youth Summer Sessions as well as a half-day session of game testing. Thank you to our student consultants for signing up and giving us valuable evaluations of games, participating in our design activities, and working hard on their own game pitches. #LGLThinkTanks