It’s Tuesday, August 28, 2018, and time for Science at ClickSchooling!
Recommended Website:
Kinetic City
(www.kineticcity.com/)
Age Range: 7-10 (Grades 3-5, with parental supervision)
Save Vearth (Virtual Earth) from dastardly villains! The National Science Foundation sponsors this AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) website to promote science education in the classroom and at home.
When you get to the site, use the space vehicle at the top left corner of the screen. Click on “Club Car,” and from there select “Our World” to meet the animated crew of virtual kids who live on Vearth (the “virtual” planet Earth). Of course, they are facing a crisis — the possibility of Deep Delete — a wicked plan to destroy Vearth with 16 viruses.
By following the clues, reading scientific explanations for the strange things that are occurring on Vearth, and by doing science lab experiments that will help you solve various mysteries and puzzles, you can discover a solution to save Vearth.
To get started, you will need to choose from either:
- Lab Car — Select this option to access just the interactive “mind games.”
- Control Car — To get all of the science content this site has to offer, use this option. Not only are all of the “mind games” included, but there are lab experiments to do.
- Supply Car — Click on “Deep Delete Trading Cards” to play “Virus Attack”. The other choices of the Supply Car are “coming soon,” so bookmark the site and check back occasionally to see what’s new!
Once aboard the Control Car, use the top menu button labeled “Pack” to choose from packs labeled: Omega, Phi, Sigma, and Tau. Each pack has four viruses. Select a virus then click on its picture to read a brief synopsis of its threat to Vearth. Then, click the three buttons at the bottom of the screen to watch the villain and his evil henchman reveal their sinister plot of DOOM. To find out what you can do to help foil their evil plan, play the suggested online games and do the science lab experiments and other activities that include drawing, writing, and games involving physical movement. The information you gain from these activities will equip you for the “Mission to Vearth” that will ultimately destroy that virus.
When you first click “Mission to Vearth” you get a chance to earn “Power Points.” If you have logged in (membership is free), you can accumulate the points that you earn, have a chance at having your high scores posted on the site, and advance in rank from “Bug Zapper 2nd Class” all the way up to “Supersonic Virus Stopper!” If you’d rather not join, don’t worry; just click “Later” and proceed to answer the power questions anyway. You’ll still be congratulated for any power points you earn.
And don’t miss the heart-pounding arcade-style game to evaluate what you have learned, before you move on to the next virus! In “Bug Blaster,” crash into and destroy viruses, gain more fuel by answering questions correctly, and avoid obstacles which may reduce your shield strength. (Watch out! This game ends when you run out of either time, fuel, or shield strength.) Some viruses are destroyed by “Smart Attack” instead, a fast-paced matching game. Try to rack up points by matching as many facts as possible before you run out of lives or time.
Bookmark this site so you can return repeatedly to do the succession of activities in this entertaining Internet quest for science knowledge.
