Science
Star Search Game: Constructing a Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram
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Star Search is an online game developed by the Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) that allows the user to go on a simulated journey into space using a spacecraft in search of various stars. The user is able to scan the star to obtain important characteristics about the stage of the star’s life cycle, such as mass, diameter, temperature, brightness, and distance from Earth. The obtained data can be used to correlate the various characteristics of the star, which can further be used to reinforce their location on the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram.
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Guts and Bolts
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Guts and Bolts helps students understand the complex relationships among the circulatory, respiratory, and digestives systems in the human body. Students play from the perspective of Moby, who is trying to create a robot version of Tim. By connecting “parts” (body organs) and “pipes” (arteries and veins) in each of 11 increasingly complex steps, students develop an understanding of the interrelationships that exist among body systems. The goal of the game is to successfully create a robot with functional “guts and bolts.” (BrainPOP)
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Planet Mechanic
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Planet Mechanic is a game about planets and their specific properties. In this game players have the ability to experiment with a planet orbiting a star, and to alter the planet’s core attributes of atmosphere, tilt, rotation, and moon. They will be challenged to create specific planetary conditions to appease the ever-changing whims of a race of aliens living on the planet. The aliens will require alterations in temperature, atmosphere, seasons, day length, tides, and even eclipses to meet certain living conditions from level to level. Through his or her actions, a player will be able to model how a planet’s attributes work together to impact the properties and conditions of that world. (BrainPOP)
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