The Doctor is teaming up with his greatest enemy to protect the universe and teach kids how to code. On October 22, the BBC will release an educational online game based on the long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who. BBC Learning commissioned the game, titled The Doctor and the Dalek, for children across the UK. The Doctor and the Dalek is part of the BBC's Make it Digital initiative, which aims to help a younger generation learn computer skills.
Current Doctor Peter Capaldi lends his voice to the game, which finds the Doctor joining forces with his ultimate rival, a Dalek, to save the universe once again. The puzzles in the game include programming the Dalek to perform tasks, in order to help the Doctor return it to full power. These challenges were designed with the UK computing curriculum in mind to help teach students coding and programming.
"We're really excited about the launch of The Doctor and the Dalek as not only is it a really entertaining platform game for kids to play but it's also a great introduction to some key principles of computer programming," Head of BBC Learning Sinéad Rocks said in a statement. "Every puzzle has a strong link to the KS2 or KS3 computer science curriculum. So we think it's going to be a really valuable tools of students, parents and teachers."
The Doctor's latest adventure sounds both fun and instructive. However, any young Whovians in the US who want to play are out of luck: the game is only available in the UK for now.
