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We investigated the application of Minecraft in the context of both in-person and hybrid summer camps for informal science learning. Our work focuses on determining the ways in which digital game-based learning experiences can act as triggers of interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Campers were invited to explore simulations of hypothetical versions of Earth (e.g., What if the Moon did not exist?), make observations of how these worlds are different from our own, and build habitats suitable for survival on these and other alien worlds. Multiple forms of data, including field notes, interviews, game log data, and in-game knowledge assessments, suggest that many different aspects of the game and informal learning contributed to interest development. In particular, learners were found to have their interest triggered by various in-game and contextual aspects of the learning experiences, such as instructional conversation, novelty, ownership, and challenge. These interest triggers remained constant across in-person and remote camp settings with no consistent differences emerging between the two settings.

Diversity has been a prevalent issue in the American STEM workforce for a number of years. Efforts to increase diversification have resulted in alternate learning spaces such as makerspaces, after school programs, and technology integrated curriculums. Our study, hosted at a non-profit organization serving underrepresented youth, leveraged the video game Minecraft (MC) as a way to engage summer campers in scientific concepts and inquiries over one week. Reoccurring themes from interviews include familial rules on technology use at home, engaging with STEM in a novel way, and a love for building and creating within MC. We discuss our insight into the discoveries and challenges of these types of STEM-oriented program that takes place in informal settings. CCS CONCEPTS • Social and professional topics~Informal education • Social and professional topics~Race and ethnicity • Social and professional topics~Adolescents • Applied computing~Interactive learning environments • General and reference~Experimentation

The motivational terms of engagement, interest, and motivation are usually used interchangeably across disciplines. This trend is problematic because each construct has unique characteristics that either differ or overlap each other, and as a result, empirical works that are unclear about which construct is being measured attributes to muddling the overall quality of the research area on interest development. The issue of interest measurement is further complicated by the increased use of technology and games for learning. The purpose of this literature review is to first provide definitions of engagement, interest, and motivation as well as their relationship to each other in learning. Then, I inspect previous methods used to assess interest and report on the recent assessments of interest development using analog and digital games for learning. Empirical works selected for this literature review directly measuring interest and were recent publications (< 5 years), and a total of seven studies in out-of-school K-12 learning settings were examined in detail. Findings from the literature review show that interest assessment has traditionally relied on self-report measures over a brief period of time, whereas ideally a more accurate representation of interest tracking pairs' self-report measures with fieldwork across an individual's lifespan. A common occurrence found in interest assessment studies include small sample groups and an inconsistency in measurements of interest. Further research is needed to develop an instrument or methodology that can measure interest in isolation from other motivational variables and for adaption across disciplines.