A Balanced Diet
ECOLOGY STORYLINE ONE
Players examine the process of decomposition and digestion in this sequence, using their knowledge to create food webs outlining the relationships between producers, primary and secondary consumers, and decomposers within an ecosystem.
NGSS Alignment
This storyline aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards at MS-LS2-1 and MS-LS2-3.
Vocab Card Download
Download printable vocabulary cards that tie into this storyline!
Real World Connections
This storyline examines the phenomena of digestion and decomposition within ecosystems.
Storyline Walkthrough Overview
Second Time's a Charm
Casper has a problem: the rabbit he's been looking after has been eating his own poop! Casper is horrified, and calls on the player for help understanding why Henry would behave so oddly. Players dive into the digestion process to learn more about how food is converted into energy on a molecular level, and why some herbivores digest their food twice!
Worldwide Webs
Players collect stool samples from around the biodome, then test them to see who's been eating what. After gathering DNA samples from the animals who left the samples, players create a food web: a more complicated diagram outlining the ways that species are interconnected within ecosystems.