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October 11, 2005

Aquarium puzzles

So here's what Rick and I came up with yesterday afternoon:

Big Idea: Several mini-puzzles, solutions fitting together into an overarching meta-puzzle about balance
and the global ecosystem, possibly with some sort of take-home artifact. Each puzzle can be scaled based
on the age level of the player.

Puzzle #1: Overpopulation
- players decide whether to be a predator or prey
- each turn, each predator rolls a die
- if the roll is less than the number of prey present, then that player gets to survive the round and the number of prey drops by one
- after all predators have rolled, all surviving predators and prey reproduce
- this is repeated until the system collapses - this puzzle is weighted so that, assuming all the kids want to be the cool predator, the predators kill off all the prey and then face starvation

Puzzle #2: Codependence in the Ecosystem
- Jenga-style game
- pull pieces until system collapses
- pieces have meaningful lables, represent different species
- depending on the age group, point out that it's not a specific sequence that causes the collapse, but the aggregation of all extinctions

Puzzle #3: Dependence on Habitat
- "Take me home!"
- player is presented with several fish that are in the wrong habitat
- misplaced fish explain their issues (e.g. "I can't lay eggs here," "I can't hide here," "I'm too cold here," etc.)
- have to put everyone back in the right place

Puzzle #4: Adaptation
- large open ocean area connects with more specified habitats, e.g. deep sea, arctic, coral reef, etc.
- player is a generic fish that wants to get a competitive edge on food in a more specialized area
- choose adaptations that allow you to move deeper into your new home

Puzzle #5: School vs. Solo
- explore why some predators and prey travel in groups and some travel alone

Posted by rosenblj at October 11, 2005 09:56 AM

Comments

As a marine ecologist in training I think those would be AWESOME additions to any aquarium. Good luck with your project, I'm impressed with where you have gone in your life.
-Jenn

Posted by: Jennj2482 [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 11, 2005 12:04 PM

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