Mission US is an award-winning educational media project that immerses young people in transformational moments from U.S. history.
Developed for use by middle school students in the classroom and beyond, Mission US is a deeply-researched, award-winning educational media project with proven positive impact on history learning. To date, more than three million registered users across the country have played and learned from Mission US.
Mission US is committed to teaching complicated and sensitive topics in American history. We recommend that teachers/parents preview game content to make sure it is appropriate for their students/children.
Overview
Mission US engages young people in the study of transformational moments in American history. Each mission consists of an interactive narrative game and curriculum materials aligned to national standards. The games immerse players in rich, historical settings and empower them to make choices that illuminate how ordinary people experienced the past. The educator’s guides provide a wealth of resources and activities for teachers and students that show the broader social, political, and economic context of events and perspectives featured in the game.
Mission US is part of an expanding body of “serious games” that immerse users in historical and contemporary problems in ways that encourage perspective-taking, discussion, and weighing of multiple kinds of evidence. Educators have found that games can be an effective way to help young people and struggling readers grapple with and explore challenging content.
Proven Impact
- Research and Outcomes
Multiple research studies have found that using Mission US leads to measurable gains in students’ historical knowledge and skills. The games and supporting resources have earned consistent praise and positive feedback from teachers.
- Awards and Praise
Winner of the Games for Change Award for Most Significant Impact and multiple Parents’ Choice and International Serious Play Awards, Mission US continues to earn honors and praise from educators, parents, students, and critics.
Creating Mission US
- Our Goals & About the Missions
Mission US aims to get students to care about history by seeing it through the eyes of peers from the past. Learn more about each of the missions developed to date.
- Process and Development
WNET collaborates with a multidisciplinary team to create Mission US. Many months of planning, research, review, and testing with diverse groups of teachers and students go into the development and creation of each mission and its companion educational materials.
Our Team
- Partners and Funders
Mission US is created by four key partners with deep experience in the creation and evaluation of educational media, and made possible by the support of our generous funders.
- Credits
Each mission is the result of a collaboration among countless historians, researchers, writers, artists, developers, designers, actors, producers, and more.
News
- An update on our formerly-Flash games!
Five of the Mission US games are already available in the updated Unity format and no longer require Flash. A rebuild of the remaining game is in progress.
- Mission US wins the 2021 Japan Prize!
Mission US: Prisoner in My Homeland received the prestigious 2021 Japan Prize for Best Work in the Digital Media Division.