Materials availability influence

Guiding Ideas

Scientists discovered a strange planet. Landscapes seem familiar but when you walk few steps they change so fast! Our exploration team identified 5 different biomes and set a transport network to reach them. You will arrive in a teleportation hub then a train station. You'll find further instructions in each biome. Your mission: collect samples of materials, compare them with what we find on earth and build an exhibition building to explain what you discovered. Don't forget to insert boards to welcome and give information for the next teams.

With this map students will discover that materials available in our environment have a strong influence on the aspect and the style of the buildings around them.

The amount of time “in game” should be limited on purpose (the team shouldn’t leave the space vessel to long!). Therefore, the teams must find solutions to be efficient to collect materials and craft the exact number of blocks they need.
For example:
-discovering the world and collecting samples: 90 minutes
-blueprints and planning: 4 hours
-building: 4-5 hours
Student’s should be asked NOT to jump from wagons until they’re arrived in their biome or they could get lost.
In the end of the activity, you should organise a discussion about how materials available around us influenced buildings and architecture throughout history. For example: in ancient Egypt, it was quite difficult and expensive to get wood. In Italy, marble is common, not in the west of France where you can easily find granite etc.