Some Project Examples

Epidemic: Disease can spread quickly among people; in fact, if it spreads quickly enough and infects many people, it is called an epidemic. This simulation can help you understand how quickly disease can spread in a population of 1,000 people even when only one person is initially infected. You can also play with the scripts to see what happens when you increase or decrease the population.
Big idea: Epidemiology

Forest Fire: Similar to the epidemic simulation, this example allows you to explore how the extent of damage due to forest fires is related to the number of trees in an area. You can use the slider to change the number of trees and see how a fire that begins in the center of the forest behaves in different situations.
Big idea: Density

Ants: Animals and insects have certain characteristics that help them to survive. This project simulates how a colony of ants uses scents to communicate with each other. When an ant finds food, it lays down a scent trail to let other ants know how to follow its tracks. Over time, this scent trail decays so that when the ants have gathered all the food, the trail also disappears.
Big ideas: Animal Adaptations

Gas Tank: This project demonstrates how molecules of gas bounce around in a tank at different temperatures to exert pressure on a piston. By adjusting the number of molecules in the tank, you can investigate how the piston’s motion interacts with the amount of gas.
Big idea: Pressure, Temperature

Diffusion: This project begins with a number of particles on one side of a divider that has a small break in the middle. When you start the scripts, the particles bounce around with some of them escaping through the hole to the other side. Over time, how do you think the system will look?
Big idea: Equilibrium, Pressure

Predator/Prey: Within an ecosystem, some organisms (predators) eat others as food (prey). Use this project to explore how predators and prey affect each other’s populations. There’s even a graph to help you monitor how many predators there are!
Big idea: Ecology

Pixels: This is an example of the graphic designs you can make with Kedama.
Big ideas: Animated Designs