Since 1996 the Institute has worked with Townsend Harris High School to develop a uniquely ambitious, rigorous, and successful election simulation model that has engaged thousands of students in area high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools in year simulations. Systematic research demonstrates that the simulation raises the participant's sense of political efficacy and their political knowledge, two key variables affecting political participation. Other curriculum development projects include "Maxiopolis"‚ a City Council policy-making simulation, "Pleasant Valley" (an environmental issues map game), "War or Peace" (an international diplomacy game that mimics World War I) and "Transforma" (which involves students in a telescoped history of the world).