Food Chain Jenga: Difference between revisions

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# Build the Jenga tower with <span style="color: blue"> '''Blue'''</span> on the bottom, followed by <span style="color: green"> '''Green'''</span>, <span style="color: purple"> '''Purple'''</span>, and <span style="color: pink"> '''Pink'''</span> on top.
# Build the Jenga tower with <span style="color: blue"> '''Blue'''</span> on the bottom, followed by <span style="color: green"> '''Green'''</span>, <span style="color: purple"> '''Purple'''</span>, and <span style="color: pink"> '''Pink'''</span> on top.
# Have students identify the layers as being different parts of the food chain, with the upper layers being consumers of the lower layers. For example, the bottom layer could be bugs, the next layer frogs, the next layer snakes, and the top layer hawks.
# Have students identify the layers as being different parts of the food chain, with the upper layers being consumers of the lower layers. For example, the bottom layer could be grass, the next layer bugs, the next layer frogs, and the top layer snakes.
# Give the students different scenarios that can affect the stability of the food chain:
# Give the students different scenarios that can affect the stability of the food chain:
#* Say that some bugs die due to disease. This means that some frogs also die, as well as snakes and hawks.
#* Say that some bugs die due to disease. This means that some frogs also die, as well as snakes.
#* Say that there is a boost in the frog population. This means that a lot of bugs will be eaten, making the bottom layer weaker.
#* Say that there is a boost in the frog population. This means that a lot of bugs will be eaten, weakening the bug layer and making the grass layer thicker. This also makes the snake layer thicker, since they have more to eat.
#* Say that some of the hawks are hunted, and remove some of the hawk layer. This means that there can be more snakes, so more of the frogs are eaten and make the frog layer weaker.
#* Say that the snakes start over-hunting the frogs. This means that there can be more bugs, so more of the grass is eaten and makes the grass layer weaker.
# Give examples and keep pulling parts out until the tower collapses. Why did the tower collapse? Can students think of ways to help prevent the tower from collapsing?
# Give examples and keep pulling parts out until the tower collapses. Why did the tower collapse? Can students think of ways to help prevent the tower from collapsing?


== Why This Works ==
== Why This Works ==


The ''Food Chain'' refers to the chain of producers and consumers that keep ecosystems in check.  
The Food Chain refers to the chain of producers and consumers that keep ecosystems in check.
* The bottom layer is the ''Producers'', which are usually shown as the basic plants and fungi (Trees, Grasses, Mushrooms, Algae, etc.).
* Above the producers you find the first ''Consumers'', the herbivores (Squirrels, Insects, Rabbits, Small Fish, etc.).
* The next layer is the base-level carnivores and omnivores (Foxes, Snakes, Large Fish, Frogs, etc.).
* The top layer is the primary carnivores (Wolves, Hawks, Bears, Panthers, etc.).


{| class="wikitable" style="color:black; background-color:#ddd; text-align: center; margin: auto"
A healthy food chain has a good balance between the layers: there are enough producers to satisfy and keep the herbivores and omnivores happy, and there are enough carnivores to keep the number of herbivores in check. By using this tower of block, however, we can model a ''Food Chain Collapse'', or when an ecosystem becomes too unstable for all the organisms within it. By having various events happen, students can see how each layer affects the other layers, and can result in a collapse.
| This will give you
| a floating box.
|-
| The box will be
| centered for you.
|}


== Additional Information ==
== Additional Information ==


*  
* Feel free to use any mix of producers and consumers for your food chain. Encourage students to suggest layers as well!
* This demonstration is a part of the (insert [[Stage Show]] here)
* You can also include human intervention on the food chain to show how we can help (or hurt) the wildlife around us. Use helpful examples like rescue/release or hunting seasons, as well as hurtful examples like an oil spill or poaching of endangered species.
 
* This demonstration pairs well with the [[Predator Prey]] demonstration.
-->
== Age ==
 
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
 
== Format ==
 
Hands-on
 
== Materials ==
 
    Food Chain Jenga
 
== Safety Precautions ==
 
Science Theatre demonstrators must keep the safety of themselves and their audience in mind at all times. All Science Theatre demonstrators must have read through the Safety Training page. The ST Safety Box with first aid kit, fire extinguisher, etc. should always be available to demonstrators. Always wear safety gloves, glasses, and a labcoat if handling chemicals; always perform potentially dangerous demonstrations at a safe distance from the audience; and always keep a very close eye on any volunteers you call from the audience. Falling Jenga blocks could hit someone in the eye and cause permanent damage. Use caution.
 
== Preparation ==
 
Set up Jenga tower.
 
== Demonstration ==
 
Integrate what to say with these steps
 
The colored blocks represent different animals in the food chain.
 
Blue – bugs
 
Green – frogs
 
Purple – snakes
 
Pink – hawks
 
Or you can pick your own.
 
This demo could be done in various ways, depending on what you want to teach. Here’s one idea:
 
Have the kids try to take out all of the jenga blocks representing one animal, such as frogs. The tower should fall, demonstrating how the food web would collapse if one of its members were to die off due to disease or human intervention. Explain how even though hawks don’t eat bugs, if there were fewer bugs, frogs couldn’t live, then snakes couldn’t live and eventually the hawks would be affected.
 
== What to Say ==
 
Explain that the food chain is important to our lives as well, not just animals. If the food chain collapses, we could find ourselves without food, or in an environment that is not very biodiverse (you could also explain biodiversity – a healthy ecosystem has many different plants and animals. That way if one species dies out, the rest are not affected)
 
== Why It Is ==
 
== Real Life Examples ==
 
Real life examples are everywhere around us! Food chains are used to describe how animals survive and how the natural world works.

Latest revision as of 16:03, 22 September 2016

Biology: Food Chain
Grade Range: Elementary School
Format: Hands-on

This is a simple little demonstration that is easy to set up and easy to run for science nights. Encourage students to come up with the animals at each layer of the demonstration!

Materials

  • Food Chain Jenga Blocks

Safety Precautions

Please read the General Safety Precautions section of the Demonstration Safety page before performing this demonstration.

Demonstration

  1. Build the Jenga tower with Blue on the bottom, followed by Green, Purple, and Pink on top.
  2. Have students identify the layers as being different parts of the food chain, with the upper layers being consumers of the lower layers. For example, the bottom layer could be grass, the next layer bugs, the next layer frogs, and the top layer snakes.
  3. Give the students different scenarios that can affect the stability of the food chain:
    • Say that some bugs die due to disease. This means that some frogs also die, as well as snakes.
    • Say that there is a boost in the frog population. This means that a lot of bugs will be eaten, weakening the bug layer and making the grass layer thicker. This also makes the snake layer thicker, since they have more to eat.
    • Say that the snakes start over-hunting the frogs. This means that there can be more bugs, so more of the grass is eaten and makes the grass layer weaker.
  4. Give examples and keep pulling parts out until the tower collapses. Why did the tower collapse? Can students think of ways to help prevent the tower from collapsing?

Why This Works

The Food Chain refers to the chain of producers and consumers that keep ecosystems in check.

  • The bottom layer is the Producers, which are usually shown as the basic plants and fungi (Trees, Grasses, Mushrooms, Algae, etc.).
  • Above the producers you find the first Consumers, the herbivores (Squirrels, Insects, Rabbits, Small Fish, etc.).
  • The next layer is the base-level carnivores and omnivores (Foxes, Snakes, Large Fish, Frogs, etc.).
  • The top layer is the primary carnivores (Wolves, Hawks, Bears, Panthers, etc.).

A healthy food chain has a good balance between the layers: there are enough producers to satisfy and keep the herbivores and omnivores happy, and there are enough carnivores to keep the number of herbivores in check. By using this tower of block, however, we can model a Food Chain Collapse, or when an ecosystem becomes too unstable for all the organisms within it. By having various events happen, students can see how each layer affects the other layers, and can result in a collapse.

Additional Information

  • Feel free to use any mix of producers and consumers for your food chain. Encourage students to suggest layers as well!
  • You can also include human intervention on the food chain to show how we can help (or hurt) the wildlife around us. Use helpful examples like rescue/release or hunting seasons, as well as hurtful examples like an oil spill or poaching of endangered species.
  • This demonstration pairs well with the Predator Prey demonstration.
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