The design and implementation determining age of fossils game simulation at virtual museum of Indonesia (A case study at a Museum of Geology)

Museum is one of non-formal educational institutions that can give some lessons to human beings. Museum is one of teaching and learning media without taking the role of teachers for granted. The existence of museum can answer questions emerging in the teaching learning process, particularly those related to the history of human development, geology, culture and environment. Meanwhile, there are several problems that often impede the achievement of the functions of museum. One of the problems is that the visual aid learning media have not already been interactive. The problems pertaining to the interactivity is one of the sources of the lack of the visitors' learning experience. The teaching learning process conducted in museums generally covers listening, visualization, or visualization and listening area. One of the ways to handle the problems is to develop web based virtual museum of Indonesia. The VMI may lead to an interactive teaching learning process in the form of a game simulation that can be conducted every time and everywhere, including at a school as a formal educational institution. The case of this study was Museum Geologi Bandung (Bandung Museum of Geology). The study comprised some processes including the development and the test of game simulation as a teaching learning medium. The lesson to deliver was to determine the age of fossils where the students competence taken as the focus of the study was the students' motivation in the teaching learning process. The design process was conducted using tools of coperlicht engine, editor 3D Coppercube and PHP. It was then followed by the test, through sampling. Thirty five students of SMAN 12 Bandung were chosen as the samples. The research instruments used in this study were pretest, posttest, questionnaire, observation and interview. The study shows that the game simulation to determine the fossil age built on the VMI application is appropriate to use as a learning medium, either in or outside a school, wherever and whenever, as long as computers and internet connection are available. Furthermore, the game simulation on the VMI application designed for the lesson fulfilled the course material. It was supported by the teachers' and students' opinion towards the two statements. The data from the pretest and posttest show that the game simulation could increase the students' motivation, either lower or higher achievement students. Accordingly, it can be assumed that the students' achievement can be increased without any teachers' guidance.