The Virtual Mine Receives An Emmy Nomination

Online, July 20, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Sand Castle Studios, LLC is pleased to announce that The Virtual Mine has been nominated for an Emmy Award for New Approaches to News and Documentary Programming .

The Virtual Mine is an immersive, interactive, and educational 3D experience located in the virtual world of Second Life®. It was created to to educate, explore, and examine our nation's struggle with mountain top removal coal mines, coal fired power production, and alternative energies in support of the documentary film, Deep Down, by filmmakers Jen Gilomen and Sally Rubin with funding from the MacArthur Foundation, the Independent Television Service (ITVS), and the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC).

The Virtual Mine allows visitors to take a closer look at the challenges of balancing the environment, power demands, and economic interests by inviting them to take part in a story as it unfolds through a series of three games.

Resources for those new to Second Life are available to accompany the game. An Educators Guide outlines how the game can be used in the classroom, and includes tips for entering and participating in Second Life, short videos, discussion questions, suggested activities, and online resources for each of the games. While it was created with educators and students in mind, the games can be played in groups or by individuals alike.

Deep Down and the Virtual Mine first debuted on the Emmy-award winning PBS series Independent Lens.

"We are so honored to be singled out in our industry and recognized for the Virtual Mine with this Emmy nomination," said Kimberly Winnington, Chief Executive Officer of Sand Castle Studios, LLC. "This nomination is a proud achievement, and a testament to all of the incredible hard work put in by our very talented team including myself, William Reed Seal-Foss (Content Creation) and Karl Stiefvater (Software Engineer). It also solidifies how powerful virtual worlds are as way to connect with others, examine problems, and participate in activities in order to learn more about them in a way that might not otherwise be possible."