Educating Risa

The boys play several computer games, some more explicitly “educational” than others. As Daegan’s computer skills have steadily increased, he is now able to find and play his own games. It’s amazing how quickly this generation learns how to google! Here’s some of their favourite dinosaur-related games:

Online Games (mainly found by Daegan):

BBC’s Skeleton Jigsaw, in which you put together the skeletons of 4 different prehistoric creatures (Basilosaurus, Gastornis, Australopithecus, and Woolly Mammoth). There are different levels of complexity, with the smallest bones pieces for the more advanced levels (like what is found on real world dig sites), and large complete bones for beginner levels.

BBC’s Making Fossils, in which you set various conditions in the attempt to make fossils. And just like the real world, “sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.” – Daegan.

TVO’s Dino Dig, a cartoonish game aimed at the youngest paleo enthusiasts, in which you dig for fossils and use what you’ve found to construct a specimen for a museum. The fossils are found in different areas of the world, and you need to use the correct tools at different points during the dig. The Smithsonian has a more complex and realistic version of a similar game.

On CD:

Zoo Tycoon 2 (Canada) (US), in which the boys set up and run a prehistoric zoo. The game requires the boys to think about which animals they want to keep and how many to have, how to keep the animals happy (type of food? type and size of enclosure? other needs?), and how to balance the various roles of their zoo to keep it running (needs of animals vs. needs of visitors, various sources of revenue to offset various expenses, entertainment vs. educational vs. research institute roles, etc.). If things go poorly, you may end up with a “dino rampage”, which requires prompt action by the staff: a robot is used to distract the dino while a tranquilizing team steps in. The boys find this a very fun, if complex game, and it is the one they play the most. 

“I Can Be a Dinosaur Finder”, which is an older game a friend passed along to us. The boys are playing it in these pics:

 

What are your kids favourite computer games? (I’d love some suggestions that are not dinosaur-related as well!)