Space Games

Last Wednesday we were crossing the boundaries of our known environment by thinking about the possibility of other habitable planets....it was all rather mind blowing, so Joel and I put our heads together to devise a couple of games that would make learning the facts more fun!


First game was my design:  I called it "Hab Plan" - short for Habitable Planet.
The aim was to find a planet that fit all the criteria for habitation, and then consider a few other variables that might affect its habitability.

Terraform's Game Board, Alpha Test Version!

Hexagonal Board with 6 "Orbits".
Each orbit has a set of "Hab Plan" cards  - which may allow you to move in to the next orbit, or give you a non-hab forfeit, making you move back out one orbit or miss a turn.  Each Hab Plan card has astronomical facts/theories to go with the consequence, which helps the kids (OK, not just the kids - me too!) learn without trying too hard.
Once you reach the Habitable Zone, Orbit 6, there are "System Cards" which add even more variables to the game - and can only be won with a game of chance with the dice.
Sounds complex, but....it worked!

We made counters to look like little planets out of painted air drying clay. very tactile.
Bottom line is that this fed my inner most needs to fiddle with bits of paper, play with my laminator and make cute things frmo clay. Who was benefiting from this experience?  Good question.

 However, learning was occurring!

interestingly, there was an article in the newspaper that very same week talking about the huge variety of planet types there are around other stars in our galaxy. So far, not one of them has more than one criterion for habitability.......

Still, despite this disappointing lack of alien life forms in real life, the next game we played was Joel's "Design an Alien" version of 'Beetle Drive" / Cooties.
the Alien body parts involved a little thinking outside the box to try to come up with ideas of how life might form in a totally different environment...

 

 so we had telepathic detection membranes, fuzzy antennae-type things for absorbing nutrients etc.
 And here were the resulting creations:

We were able to play all these games with our good friends and
partners in science crime, which made it all the more fun.
Why is it that my Alien looks a bit like a human being having a bad day.....Anna's and Joel's are much more sci fi looking!