Geeky Science Game Teaches Kids About Mating

Even in schools where sex ed is either saved for the older grades or outlawed altogether, sooner or later, they're going to have to address the science of mating.

I remember someone pointing to two flies on my desk, saying, "Eww, gross, they're mating." One fly was just sitting atop the other, seemingly just hanging out there. I had no idea what my classmate meant by mating until I was told what mating was in a second grade science class.

The Science Museum of the UK has come up with a simpler way to teach kids about procreation: video games. They created Thingdom, which is described as "Adopt a Thing. Care for a Thing. Make baby things!"

Gizmodo explains in adult-speak:

Thingdom is a genetics game presented like a virtual pet sim...

There's a routine bit of foreplay first, as ever, in which you feed, stroke and play with your blob-like Thing. Then after impressing a potential mate via a mini game, it's down to business. Following a successful mating process you're presented with a few example babies, complete with an explanation of the dominant and recessive genes they inherited from their parents. Which is when it got too complicated and we stopped playing.

Parenting is way too hard, man.

Via.

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