NLM Releases TOXinvaders, a Mobile Game about Chemistry, the Environment and Health

Posted by Carolyn Martin on March 26th, 2015 Posted in: News from NLM, Technology

---

The Division of Specialized Information Services of the National Library of Medicine launches TOXinvaders, an environmental health and toxicology game for iPhone and iPad, available from the Apple Store (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toxinvaders/id971776185?mt=8).

TOXinvaders supports middle school science concepts pertaining to chemistry, environment and health. It can serve as an engaging classroom or homework activity for middle and high school students, as well as an entertaining learning activity for gaming aficionados of all ages. In the classroom environment, TOXinvaders works best as a supplement to NLM Tox Town, Environmental Health Student Portal, TOXMAP, and ChemIDplus Web sites.The game consists of four fast-paced levels, in which a launcher is used to annihilate toxic chemicals falling from the sky and earn protective shield points by capturing “good chemicals.” To move on to the next level, players must take a brief quiz about its chemicals in order to unlock the next one. These dynamically generated tests provide an excellent opportunity to learn more about environmental health and toxicology, either from the game’s chemical information sheet, or from NLM Web sites. Quiz questions and answers can also serve as a departure point for classroom discussions, as well as Tox Town, TOXMAP, and Environmental Health Student Portal activities and experiments.