Geothermal Development: a Game of Chance and Wit

Abstract

In order to inspire diverse young people into STEM careers, colleagues from Mercury NZ Ltd partnered with The University of Auckland (UoA) Women in Engineering Network (WEN) and presented an introduction to geothermal development to high school aged youth during Enginuity Day 2019. Beyond typical methods of industry presentation to students, the Mercury team decided to create an interactive game to foster engagement and learning.
The sequence of the game leads players through the entire process from exploration to commercial development of an unexplored geothermal resource. In the first stage, participants are provided maps and geoscience data, which they analyse to select well locations. In the second stage, they discover the productivity and enthalpy of their new wells. Penultimately, using well data and information about the efficiency of various power plant types, they place a fictional power plant and design pipelines to connect their wells. Finally, the game is scored by translating the production of their powerplant and wells drilled into an economic output.
To simulate the unpredictable reality of geothermal development, chance cards are allocated at multiple stages with varying degrees of financial setback.
The reception to the game was overwhelmingly positive. While it was designed specifically to introduce high school aged women to the geothermal industry, a similar style of game could be adapted to engage other ages or to focus on other topics.