Reviews of Environmental Education Games, Simulations, & Virtual Labs

• Humpback Whale Migration game
• URL: sanctuaries.noaa.gov/whales/main_page.html
• Creators: NOAA Ocean Service Education
• Cost: free

• WaterLife: Where Rivers Meet the Sea
• Oscar the sea otter is on a journey to save his home. Join Oscar and friends in their efforts to restore the estuary he lives in.
• URL: games.noaa.gov/oscar/welcome.html
• Creators: NOAA Ocean Service Education
• Cost: free

• WaterLife: Sea Turtles and the Quest to Nest
• Mother sea turtle is on a voyage to find a safe place to lay her eggs. Play to help protect Loggerhead sea turtles and their nesting habitat.
• URL: games.noaa.gov/seaturtle/welcome.html
• Creators: NOAA Ocean Service Education
• Cost: free

• Energy City game
• URL: www.jason.org/digital_library/8239.aspx
• Creators: The Jason Project
• Cost: free

• Resilient Planet
• URL: www.jason.org/gated/operations/OperationResources.aspx?occ=28
• Creators: The Jason Project
• Cost: free

• Recycle City
• URL: www.epa.gov/recyclecity
• Creators: EPA
• Cost: free

• Ergon's Tale
• URL: www.epa.gov/epawaste/education/kids/space/index.htm
• Creators: EPA
• Cost: free

• Beach Kids Games
• URL: water.epa.gov/learn/kids/beachkids/games.cfm
• Creators: EPA
• Cost: free

• Kure Waste Chase
• URL: www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/funandgames/jmc_kure.html
• Creators: PBS
• Cost: free

• Whale Watcher
• URL: www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/funandgames/jmc_whales.html
• Creators: PBS
• Cost: free

WolfQuest

• Description: role-play a wolf in Yellowstone National Park in this "first-person shooter" style of game; by Minnesota Zoo and eduweb, with NSF funding; free download for Mac & Windows (April 2010)
• URL: www.wolfquest.org
• Cost: free

Gizmos

• Description: hundreds of simulations for math and science, primarily for students in grades 3-12 (also some college-level). Science simulations cover a range of subjects, with largest collections in physics.
• URL: www.explorelearning.com
• Creators: ExploreLearning
• Cost: Commercial product; not free. Demo versions available. Pricing appears to depend on situation (# of students using, # of Gizmos used, etc.).
• Environmental Education topics: Energy Conversions, Forest Ecosystem, Measuring Trees, Plants and Snails, Pond Ecosystem, Prarie Ecosystem, Water Cycle, Water Pollution

• Pond Ecosystem
• URL: www.explorelearning.com
• Creators: ExploreLearning

NASA's Climate Kids web site, games section

• URL: climate.nasa.gov/kids/games
• Game Titles: Go Green!, Mission to Planet Earth, Whirlwind Disaster, Wild Weather Adventure, Migration Concentration, Earthy Word Games, Cloud Picture Scrambles, Weather Slyder, Power Up!

• Power Up!
• URL: climate.nasa.gov/kids/powerupcleanly
• Creators: NASA

PhET (Physics Education Technology)

• Description: a large collection of Flash and Java-based simulations covering a range of scientific disciplines and mathematics. The main focus is physics for college students, but the project has expanded into chemistry, biology, and Earth science. Many of the sims are suitable for K-12 audiences.
• URL: phet.colorado.edu
• Creator: University of Colorado at Boulder
• Cost: free

• Natural Selection
• URL: phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/natural-selection
• Creator: PhET - University of Colorado at Boulder

My Own Biome

• Description: Four-player PC game simulates ten different biomes.
• URL: myownbiome.com
• Cost: $25-50 (also site licensing package deals)

WikiWatershed

• Description: Various activities related to watersheds, including a watershed simulator.
• URL: wikiwatershed.org
• Cost: free

Thrill of the Catch

• Description: Create custom fish and go fishing.
• URL: discoverylake.discoveryeducation.com
• Creators: Discovery Channel - Discovery Education
• Cost: free

WeatherWise (WXWISE)

• Description: large collection of Java applets covering weather-related topics. Categories include: storms, temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, clouds, radiation, climate, basic meteorology, and miscellaneous and non-meteorology.
• URL: profhorn.meteor.wisc.edu/wxwise
• Creators: Steve Ackerman and Tom Whittaker
• Cost: free

BioLogica (The Concord Consortium)

• Description: Two "Web Labs" from the BioLogica biology education system: Dragon Genetics and Mendel's Peas. Requires Adobe's Shockwave plugin.
• URL: biologica.concord.org/webtest1/web_labs.htm
• Creators: The Concord Consortium
• Cost: free

SERC (Science Education Research Center at Carleton College)

• Visualization Collection Sites
• Browse Visualizations
• Collections of Visualizations on Geoscience Topics
• Ed Research about Visualizations
• Recommended Readings related to Visualizations
• URL: serc.carleton.edu

SimScientists

• Description: six simulations, developed for educational research, spanning three middle school science disciplines. Life Science - "Ecosystems" and "Cells and Human Body Systems". Physical Science - "Atoms & Molecules" and "Forces & Motion". Earth Science - "Climate" and "Plate Tectonics".
• URL: simscientists.org
• Creators: WestEd - a non-profit educational research organization
• Cost: contact WestEd - I think they are only currently distributing to field testers.

The Science of Atoms and Molecules (SAM) Project

• Description: 24 activities across the fields of physics, chemistry, and biology covering the science of atoms and molecules. Simulations are embedded in the activities.
• URL: sam.concord.org/activities
• Creators: The Concord Consortium
• Cost: free

Molecular Workbench

• Description: Molecular Workbench is an open-source software tool for building simulations for science and engineering education. The web site includes links to numerous sample simulations covering topics from physics, biology, and chemistry.
• URL: mw.concord.org/modeler/index.html
• Creators: The Concord Consortium
• Cost: free

SciGames.org

• URL: www.scigames.org

STEMware - Partnership for Biotechnology and Genomics Education

• Description: Game/module "Zombie Plague: Emergence!". Two virtual labs: "Virtual DNA Fingerprinting Laboratory" & "Virtual Plant Biotechnology and Genomics". Also legacy software "Germ Wars" for older versions of Windows and Mac operating systems.
• URL: ceprap.ucdavis.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=148
• Creators: STEMware project of the Partnership for Biotechnology and Genomics Education at U. of California at Davis.
• Cost: free

Weather and Climate Applets from CIMSS

• Description: several weather, climate, and atmosphere Java applets.
• URL: cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/wxfest
• Creators: Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• Cost: free