Somehow, science classes at Nolan Middle School managed to mix learning about ecosystems with technology like circuitry and build actual arcade games out of cardboard to teach their peers.
The result, on Wednesday, was a lot of eighth-graders demonstrating their games while students from other classes answered science questions to play the games, sometimes for prizes.
Foosball, skee ball, a mechanical claw, finger-powered basketball and lots of other creative games transformed two science classes into arcades.
Visiting students meandered through the classrooms, answered prepared questions about ecosystems, then tried their luck to make a basket or hit a target.
Eighth-grader Juan Ossa Gaona showed the circuit he and his team used to light up their cardboard foosball table.
Mixing the creativity of building a game with the study of the earth helped generate interest, he said.
Another eighth-grader, Keigan Kreinbrink agreed that coming up with questions and a game brought the details of producers, consumers and predators to life.
The games, and in some cases, models, included light, motion and sound, as well as a way to teach others about ecosystems, science teacher Karen Pierce said.
The science unit covered natural and manmade disasters. Students came up with their own examples of a disaster and built movie storyboards and posters to illustrate their ideas and the science that supported them.
They also studied a specific deforestation phenomenon in Germany and pondered the question how something so terrible might actually turn out for the good.
During World War II, forests in Germany suffered significant damage and the regrowth did not incorporate native plants. More recently, though, disease and drought have provided opportunity to re-plant and take into account biodiversity, causing systems to flourish.
“They learned about succession and biodiversity and what makes a healthy ecosystem,” she said. “They played around with technology and turned it into arcade games to teach others.”
Several of the arcade games incorporated a flag of Germany or elements of a forest to illustrate their learning.
“They have had so much fun,” said Pierce. “They just had seven days to build. They came in at lunch and after school. There has been a lot of frustration and that’s good. That builds resiliency and teaches them to re-make and have something successful in the end. They’ve learned a lot.”
Ecosystem arcade game project photo gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/killeenisd/albums/72177720324099530
