Simon Says
This fun game helps pupils understand the importance of following instructions accurately. Pupils experience the challenge of adhering to a set of simple rules, much like the coordination observed in starling flocks, and explore how this principle in nature inspires effective group dynamics and decision-making in human interactions.
Age Group: 9-12
Duration: 15 minutes
Biomimicry Connection:
The classic game of "Simon says" teaches valuable lessons in the importance of following a simple set of instructions accurately. Pupils experience the challenges of adhering to a set of simple rules, much like the coordination observed in starling flocks. These insights are translated to the real-world.
Activity Details:
Description
- Choose one person to be "Simon." This person will give the commands to the other players. The other players stand in a circle around "Simon."
- Simon starts the game by saying "Simon says" followed by an action that the players must perform. For example, "Simon says jump." The players must perform the action only if Simon says "Simon says" first. If Simon doesn't say "Simon says" before the action, the players should not perform the action. If a player performs an action when Simon didn't say "Simon says" first, they are out of the game. The last player standing is the winner.
- The game continues with Simon giving more commands, alternating between saying "Simon says" and not saying it.
With this activity pupils get to experience the difficulty of following a small set of simple rules, like starlings do. What can we learn from this?