Play to Learn! - Science Edition
One of my personal favorite ways to review a skill is by playing games online. If I'm playing, it doesn't feel like I'm learning but I am! Online games are a great way for students to reinforce skills they've been introduced to or learn totally new ones. Over the next few posts, we will be sharing some of our favorite games for various subjects. This week: SCIENCE!
This one combines a classic summer vacation activity, theme parks, with physics! Many people love roller coasters and bumper cars but have you ever stopped to think about how they actually work? What has to happen earlier in a roller coaster in order to make it through a loop safely? See if you can build a successful theme park!
http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/
The cool thing about electricity is you can make a circuit as simple or complex as you want! This online tool lets you connect wires, insert resistors, check the amperage and more. Shameless plug: Snap Circuits is a fabulous hands-on way to explore circuits and electricity for even the littlest of minds. (My kinder kiddos were addicted to it!)
Let's say you want a brown puppy with floppy ears but both the Mom and Dad have black fur. Are your dreams of a brown puppy crushed? Not necessarily! There could be a recessive trait hiding in one of the parents. Play this genetics mixer to see if you can correctly pair dominant and recessive genes to create the ideal characteristics.
http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/games/game_dogbreeding.html
Ever stop and have to readjust where you're sitting on a see-saw in order to make the person on the other end move? There's a reason behind it and its all about science! Practice solving for torque, or simply have fun figuring out how to make things balance in this simulator game.
http://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/balancing-act/latest/balancing-act_en.html
Not trying to save the best for last, but it may have happened anyway. Team up with a couple of scientist platypuses to try and create a cell that can withstand virus invasion and help save the platypus species. It's a blast! Seriously.
Check back next Tuesday at 8:00am for our next installment of Play to Learn! - Math Edition
