How educators are using Rocket League to help kids learn engineering

Rocket League is a phenomenon. The soccer game you play with cars debuted last year, and it now has multiple esports leagues and legions of dedicated fans. But the best evidence that it is something special is that educators are using it to teach kids.

This summer, summer-camp program iD Tech will use Rocket League to introduce children age 10 through age 12 to science, technology, engineering, and math, which are commonly referred to as the STEM subjects. Instructors will hold Rocket League up as an example before tasking campers with designing their own games and learning how to program. In an economy that is always looking for engineers, this kind of early training could put a new generation of kids on a path to a lucrative career. Some may even end up in the $99.3 billion gaming industry, which will likely generate well over $100 billion by the time 2016’s summer campers are old enough to join the workforce.