Families and students on the trail of cultural heritage: Historical game journey

Field trips integrated with technology, supported by games and including family participation provide valuable experiences in cultural heritage education. The aim of this study is to determine the experiences of students and families regarding the historical game journey project, which integrates technology-supported, game-included, family-participatory field trip activity in cultural heritage education. Qualitative research method was used in the study. The study applied interview for 45 grade 3rd and 4th students and 54 parents. The data analyzed by descriptive analysis technique. As a result of the research, it was seen that the students who participated in the project found the activity fun, instructive and exciting. Parents on the other hand, thought that this activity provided quality time, provided a different perspective and facilitated learning by doing and experiencing. As a result, both children and parents found the activity positive in terms of realizing cultural heritage education. Therefore, when cultural heritage education is carried out with the support of technology together with families in the field, this application attracts students’ attention and improves their awareness of cultural heritage. In addition, the gamified experience provided through the cards collected via the wands and kiosks was found to be enjoyable for students, enabling them to learn architectural concepts, explore cultural heritage elements on site, and develop an understanding of the importance of heritage preservation. While the students discussed the contribution of the historical game journey to them in terms of learning new information and contributing to sensitivity to cultural heritage, the parents explained the contribution of this process to them in terms of awareness of protecting cultural heritage, raising awareness and being instructive. Considering all these benefits of the historical game journey, it can be concluded that realizing such activities is important for cultural heritage education. The historical game journey enhanced students’ awareness of cultural heritage and encouraged active family involvement. This demonstrates that technology-supported, game-based field trips can be powerful tools for both students and families in cultural heritage education.