FUN AND GAMES RESOURCES

Want to encourage kids to love science?   Below are a number of links to websites with science games for kids.   I didn't have time to check out each and every game, but you should find some things that are fun for your children as well as educational on whatever topic you are studying.

 

Enjoy!!! 

http://cibt.bio.cornell.edu/labs_and_activities/images/Plant_Game.pdf  This plant game does a terrific job of helping students understand the functions of the leaves, flowers and roots of a plant.  It also shows the relationship of weather and growth.  My students loved it, and really came to understand plant processes and photosynthesis much better from using it.   I suggest you (or a helper) cut out the leaf and flower  shapes.  Use a large paper clip for the stem to hold roots, leaves and flowers.  It may take you two periods to play the game to completion.

 

http://csmte.binghamton.edu/scienceskepticismlinks.htm  Bad Science should be good for a laugh.   Other resources, too.

 

http://education.jlab.org/indexpages/elementgames.html   Online games of many types.

 

http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/kids/  Games for kids to play on the computer.

 

http://www.planetarkive.org/games.html   Cute site.

 

http://sciencespot.net/Pages/kdzscigames.html 

 

http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/browse_topics/index.cfm  Various games for  younger kids on the environment.

 

http://pbskids.org/games/science.html    Hooray for PBS!!!

 

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/foodchains.html

 

http://www.primarygames.com/science.php

 

http://www.primarygames.com/science.php

ENVIRONMENT INTERVIEW

•

ENVIRONMENT INTERVIEW

 

   Interview someone who is over the age of 60 or from another country.   Ask them about their childhood concerning the following things.  When you have finished, write an essay comparing and contrasting life for you and life when they were your age.   The interview is due for a science grade.  The essay will count for an English grade (grammar, structure, and punctuation) as well as for two science home work grades.

 

1.  How was garbage different?  (For example, they may have used a hanky instead of tissues.)

 

 

 

 

 

2.  How did their family dispose of their garbage?

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.   Were people concerned about pollution?

 

 

 

 

 

4.  Was there more or less pollution?

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.  What appliances required electricity? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.  Do they remember gas prices?   What were fuel prices when they were your age?

 

 

 

 

7.  Do they remember any concern over saving energy or electricity?    What were their concerns?

 

 

Garbage Lab

GARBAGE LAB

 

TABLE 1 - All of these packages were sent to our school.   Tell why each is or is not a good way to package materials.  Keep in mind recycling, reusing, and reducing.

 

Package #1-

 

 

 

 

Package #2-

 

 

 

 

Package #3-

 

 

 

 

Package #4-

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE 2 - What do all of the things at the table have in common?

 

 

 

Which ones are made of tree products?  

 

 

 

Which ones are made of oil products? (plastics)

 

 

 

  

TABLE 3 - What materials at this table can be recycled in our County?  Which can not?

RECYCLE -

 

 

 

LANDFILL -

 

 

TABLE 4 - Choose one item from this table.  With your team, think of as many ways as you can to reuse it.

ITEM - _____________________________    USES -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE 5 - What are four ways you could wrap a present so it would make less trash?  Use the examples at the table to help you .

 

1.

 

 

2.

 

 

3.

 

 

4.

 

 

 

 

TABLE 6 - Make your daily observations of the "Pollution in our Pond" experiment.

 

 

GARBAGE LAB

 

TABLE 1 - All of these packages were sent to our school.   Tell why each is or is not a good way to package materials.  Keep in mind recycling, reusing, and reducing.

 

Package #1-

 

 

 

 

Package #2-

 

 

 

 

Package #3-

 

 

 

 

Package #4-

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE 2 - What do all of the things at the table have in common?

 

 

 

Which ones are made of tree products?  

 

 

 

Which ones are made of oil products? (plastics)

 

 

 

  

TABLE 3 - What materials at this table can be recycled in our County?  Which can not?

RECYCLE -

 

 

 

LANDFILL -

 

 

TABLE 4 - Choose one item from this table.  With your team, think of as many ways as you can to reuse it.

ITEM - _____________________________    USES -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE 5 - What are four ways you could wrap a present so it would make less trash?  Use the examples at the table to help you .

 

1.

 

 

2.

 

 

3.

 

 

4.

 

 

 

 

TABLE 6 - Make your daily observations of the "Pollution in our Pond" experiment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GRAND THEFT: WORLD

 

    When Mrs. Swenson came into room 400 this morning, her globe of the world was GONE!!   So were the globes in Mrs. Tucker and Mrs. Grysko's rooms.  A ransom note is on the bulletin board with the valentines for the Earth.  Where the worlds should have been, there were possibly some clues of who stole them.   They include sand, skin, hair, white paper or fabric and a white powder.   Fingerprints were found on the ransom note, and of course the writing of the ransom note can be examined microscopically.   Who took her?   Where did they take her?   And how can we get her back?

The Plant Game

THE PLANT GAME

Adapted from http://cibt.bio.cornell.edu/labs_and_activities/images/Plant_Game.pdf by Ida Swenson, Palmyra, Virginia.

 

            Plants need water and sunlight to grow.  Their goal in life is to reproduce.   Most plants reproduce with flowers.   The object of this game is to decide how your 'plant' should grow.   The winners are the plants that have the most flowers at the end of the growing season.   When plants have water, sunlight and carbon dioxide, they can make sugar to grow.  As they grow, they make more leaves which make more sugar under the right conditions.   As more energy is changed to sugar, it can be used to make flowers for reproduction.

            Water is absolutely necessary for plants to live and grow.   The tall graduated cylinders represent the ground.  To get water, plants need roots.  Roots are represented by the little paper clips.   We will start the game with 100 ml. of water in each tall graduated cylinder and two paper clip roots.  If the roots can not reach water, the plant can not grow or  change sunlight energy into sugar.   Plants also give off water, especially on very hot days.  This is called transpiration.   When transpiration occurs, you will remove water from the graduated cylinders to show the loss.   If the roots can not reach water, you do not lose any water to transpiration.

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

      1.  Be sure you have a graduated cylinder filled to 100 ml. with water.

You need a paper clip unfolded, one leaf and 2 paper clip roots.  You also

need a small graduated cylinder and a pipette.

 

      2.  Choose a team member to record, another to measure the water, another to be 'gopher' and one to coordinate or manage to be sure everyone does their job.

    

     3.   The teacher will roll the dice.  Figure the amount of sugars your plant

will make and the amount of water you gain or lose.

 

DICE  WEATHER                           PHOTOSYNTHESIS                       RAINFALL OR H₂0 LOSS

  1        chilly, downpour                     no photosynthesis                               gain 20  ml. of water

  2        cool, light rain                         make 1 sugar X # of leaves                 gain 5 ml of water

  3        very humid, overcast               make 2 sugars X  # of leaves              lose 1 ml H₂0 x # of leaves

  4        warm, partly cloudy                make 3 sugars X # of leaves               lose 2 ml H₂0  X # of leaves

  5        humid, sunny                          make 4 sugars  X  # of leaves             lose 3 ml H₂0   X # of leaves

  6        sunny, very dry, hot                make 4 sugars  X # of leaves              lose 4 ml  H₂0  X  # of leaves

 

    4.   The team should decide when to buy more plant parts and what to buy.  However, there is a one minute time limit between each roll of the dice, so you should try to plan ahead.  Here are the costs for plant growth:              To make a leaf, the cost is 10 sugar tokens.

                                    To make a root, the cost is 10 sugar tokens.

                                    To make a flower, the cost is 21 sugar tokens. 

 

     5.  The winner is the plant with the most flowers at the end of a growing season.  The teacher will announce what the end of a growing season will be.

 

    6.  When the game is over, write a paragraph describing what you learned from this game.  What do plants need to live and grow?   What do plants try to do with the energies they get? 

THE PLANT GAME

CHANGING LIGHT ENERGY TO CHEMICAL ENERGY

 

DAY   #	ROLL OF DIE	# OF LEAVES	PHOTOSYNTHESIS FACTORS (# OF SUGARS)	SUGAR TOKENS MADE	MAKE LEAF, ROOT OR FLOWER?