Development and Iterative Design of an educational game “Magma Pop” to teach undergraduate fractional crystallization concepts

Abstract

Fractional crystallization and mineralogy are foundational yet challenging topics in undergraduate geoscience education. The M&M's® magma chamber lab is a widely used hands-on activity to illustrate these concepts, but students often focus on procedural tasks over conceptual understanding. To address this, Magma Pop, a serious educational game, was developed for a third-year volcanology course at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. The game reinforces key concepts such as mineral formulae, the role of fractional crystallization, and the relationship between temperature and magma composition through interactive, visual gameplay. In this paper, we document the iterative development of Magma Pop and aim to emphasize the role of games in advancing geoscience pedagogy and highlight how Magma Pop can be used in a geoscience curriculum.