Ethan Ashoo – ethanashoo@gmail.com
Instagram: @ea_ashoo
Lawrence Technological University
Southfield, MI, 48075
United States
Popular version of 2pED2 – Minecraft Education Edition Acoustics Lab: Gamifying a Lesson Plan about RT60
Presented at the 190th ASA Meeting
Read the abstract at https://eppro01.ativ.me/web/planner.php?id=ASASPRING2026
–The research described in this Acoustics Lay Language Paper may not have yet been peer reviewed–
In this project, we created a lesson plan using Minecraft Education Edition to teach students about reverberation time (RT60) and material absorption. The goal was to make acoustic concepts more interactive and engaging by using a familiar game environment.
Screenshot of the Minecraft Education “Castle Tower” tutorial level or overview image of the project environment.
The experience begins with a “Castle Tower” tutorial level that introduces students to the variables used in the Sabine equation, which is commonly used to estimate reverberation time. After completing the tutorial, students enter a creative sandbox where they can build their own rooms and test how sound behaves inside them.
Full walkthrough video demonstrating the tutorial level, sandbox environment, room construction process, room scanning process, and RT60/audio simulation system.
Using custom MakeCode JavaScript, the system scans the room around the player to estimate its size and the materials used in its construction. The program then calculates an estimated RT60 value and generates a simulated sound decay that matches the room’s acoustic properties.
Different Minecraft building materials were assigned simplified absorption values. For example, carpet absorbs more sound than concrete. Students can experiment by changing room materials and immediately hearing how those changes affect the sound of the space.
larger room
smaller room
To use the system, students build a rectangular room, stand in the center, and run the “roomtest” command. The game then calculates the RT60 and plays a sound with a matching decay tail, allowing students to hear how the room responds acoustically.
This project demonstrates how Minecraft Education Edition can be used as a creative tool for teaching acoustic physics. By combining interactive building mechanics with real-time calculations and audio feedback, students are able to visualize, calculate, and hear how room acoustics work in a hands-on way.