Virtual STEM class for nuclear safety education in metaverse

The blend education of e-learning and hands-on activity was carried out, using Metaverse. The topic was picked up, relating to radioactivity, nuclear safety education and STEM education. The students were six 5th and 6th graders in an elementary school. The lecture was given to them through the virtual class in Metaverse (Second Life). And then, the hands-on experiments relating to radioactivity were carried out in real life, lead and guided by the teacher in Second Life synchronistically and supported by the teacher in real life sometimes. The questionnaire given to each of students after the hands-on experiments showed very clearly that the project satisfied with the original goals very well, from both viewpoints of STEM education and nuclear safety education at early stage (pre secondary) levels. We concluded that the blend education worked well for STEM education to much extent. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.