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Fast Food Meadow
Purpose: The purpose of this game is to introduce the concept of predator and prey relationships and population dynamics
Equipment:
- Population count peg board
- Laminated cards for fox, rabbit, and clover
- Pin flags to create habitat circle
Set up: Set up the pink pin flags in a large circle. Hand out fox, rabbit and clover cards to the students
Tips with large or active groups: Make years very fast, and don't worry about the population chart.
SOLs that correlate to this activity include: Sci 4.1, 4.5, 4.8
Procedure: (Instructions are included)
Gather students at the picnic table, and say "I hear you all have been studying about food chains and food webs, right?" "Well, this game is about a food chain in a meadow. All food chains start with the sun, and in this case the sun makes clover grow. We'll need some clover in the meadow."
Hand out clovers to those who volunteer, and send them into the middle of the flagged circle to sit or squat.
Move a little out into the circle and announce, "Now a good food chain would have some rabbits eating this clover. " Give out several rabbit bracelets, and tell them their safe spot will be outside the frisbee circle, beyond the meadow. "Each year (and our years go fast) each bunny has to eat one clover." Demonstrate a gentle tag on a clover. "And clovers, when you are tagged, you immediately become a bunny, and need to run out of the meadow, beyond the frisbees."
"And now, we'll need a few predator foxes" Give out the fox bracelets and show them that they will be patrolling the edge of the meadow, between the flags and frisbees. Tell them, "Each year, each fox will need to eat one bunny, but they can only tag the bunny in the patrolling circle." "Bunnies, if you get tagged, you immediately become a fox, and start patrolling."
"OK, it's time for the first year." Ring the bells, and help everyone get started. Wait only about 30-40 seconds, and ring the bells, stepping into the mix, and saying. Year's over. Now how many clovers do we have left? How many bunnies? How many foxes? OK, good, time for the second year. Remember, if a bunny doesn't eat a clover this year, it will die, and if a fox doesn't catch a bunny, it will die.
"OK, second year". Ring bell. Only wait about 10 seconds if there was obviously no clover. Then ring the bells and end the year by telling the bunnies and foxes who didn't survive that they have become clover.
OK, year three" Ring bell, and give them enough time to catch remaining prey. If there is obviously nothing left to eat the clover, then ring again a time or two, and let the meadow grow up. Then introduce a few brave bunnies from a nearby habitat, and a young hungry fox. Ring the bell, and let them see how a balance might work out, with very few predators.
That's the take home point: Although populations are always changing, nature is keeping a balance.
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