Interactive Game-Based Exploration of an Underwater Paleontological Site

The Yucatan Peninsula contains many cenotes and underwater caves, some of which offer promising opportunities for archeological and paleontological research in the Americas. Here we describe the transdisciplinary research efforts as part of documenting and studying the skeletal deposits in the submerged Ice Age cave site of Hoyo N egro. We translate these efforts into a video game that represents the digital twin of Hoyo Negro for the public to explore. Through this game we seek to excite middle school children about opportunities in science through the rich content at Hoyo Negro and employing next generation science standards so that the game can be tested with middle school students and used as part of science curricula.