Alien Relocation

Learning Objective: Scientific Method (Science and Engineering Process)

Scientific Method Video

Scientific Method Activity

Greetings parents, teachers and students of Earth. These online STEM activities are programs in development and are offered in the hope we can all work and research together. Please drop us a line if you have any thoughts, ideas and or suggestions. Thank you. Please note these activities are built for WebGL (HTML5). Mobile apps are being developed separately.

  • Play Game

    Aliens have crash landed on Earth and scientists do not know how to communicate with them. The aliens need to be relocated to places based on their preferences to environmental factors. Use the laboratory to safely conduct experiments and assign aliens to suitable places on Earth. The aliens will receive a Passport when they are successfully assigned a new home.

  • Information for the Parents and Teachers

    Prerequisite learning is a study of the various biomes on earth and how species decide to inhabit them. The six biomes referenced in this app are Aquatic, Desert, Forest, Grassland, Tundra, and Subterranean. Here is a suggested preliminary learning exercise. Discuss with your student how a species selects or adapts to each of the biomes. Each student should determine how he or she would respond to the various environmental settings:

    Temperature: hot, cold, or warm

    Food: meat, fruit, or leaves

    Moisture: wet, dry, or damp

    Brightness: dark, dim, bright

    Allow responses to be Like, Dislike or Doesn't matter (ambivalent) for each setting. For example, someone may Like Hot, Dislike Cold, and Not Care Either Way about Warm. Use the experiment recording sheet to record his or her preferences. After all of the preferences are logged, the learner should review the biomes and select one that meets the requirements for the responses made. Note that for humans, several biomes are acceptable. Have the learner choose his or her favorite.

    Guidance to provide to the learners for the experiement on the aliens

    There are 4 species color-coded to red, blue, yellow, and purple. Use the names of the colors for students with color impairment.

    Study just one alien at a time.

    Study one environmental setting at a time.

    Use the experiment recording sheet to record preferences for each alien.

    Run the experiment long enough to determine a species' preferences. An alien will gravitate to a preferred setting, wander if it doesn't matter, and shake its head if it dislikes it.

    Students then go to the assignment center on the left wall of the lab. There they assign the biomes for each species. The game is over when they have correctly assigned each of the 4 alien species to the proper biome.

  • Standards

    Next Generation Science Standards

    Earth Habitats, Planning, Deduction, and Analysis

    Middle School - Statistics and Probability

    Develop Understanding of Statistical Variability

    Summarize and Describe Distributions

    Use Random Sampling to Draw Inferences About a Population

    Draw Informal Comparative Inferences About Two Populations

    ISTE Standards (International Society for Technology in Education )

    1.c. Creativity and Innovation: Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues

    3. Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information

    4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making