Prairie Protector - Lesson Set
The following four lessons are provided to connect the Prairie Protector digital game with broader learning objectives.
- Prairie Protector digital game (external website link)
- Lesson 1: Introducing Prairie Protector and Comparing Gameplay Strategies
- Lesson 2: Comparing the Game to Real-World Land Management Challenges
- Lesson 3: Looking Back: How Have Cultural Beliefs about Fire Changed Over Time?
- Lesson 4: A Systems Thinking Approach in Mitigating Woody Species Encroachment
- Lesson Pack (All 4 lessons)
Garden TOOLS - Video Tutorials
The Garden TOOLS video tutorials provide a guided introduction to getting started with the BBC micro:bit microcontroller including introducing the MakeCode for micro:bit coding platform and how to hook up the battery pack.
Garden TOOLS - Lesson Set
The Garden TOOLS lesson set is an agricultural technology and engineering curriculum designed for use with students in grades 3-5.
Garden TOOLS - Project Cards
The Garden TOOLS project cards provide guided instructions for BBC micro:bit coding projects that can be used to extend student learning. Project cards include will guide students to... design a soil moisture sensor to match different plant root depths, design a button to count garden visitors, and design an animated scarecrow to scare away pests.
BBC micro:bit FAQ
The Garden TOOLS program supports students in grades 3-5 to use and program the BBC micro:bit microcontroller to gather data on environmental conditions and create technology-rich solutions to a variety of garden challenges. This FAQ will provide some basic information about the most common questions regarding the BBC micro:bit.
Garden TOOLS - How-To Coding Guides
The Garden TOOLS how-to coding guides provide step-by-step instructions on how to program the BBC micro:bit in various ways to gather data in a school garden or other outdoor learning space.
Garden TOOLS - Professional Development
Our online professional development modules are intended to provide participants with on-demand and easy-to-understand training to help you get started with the Garden TOOLS resources.
- Module 4 presentation (PDF) (6.72 MB)
- Module 5 presentation (PDF) (8.46 MB)
- Module 6 presentation (PDF) (3.43 MB)
Feeding a Growing Population - GMOs and Food Security Storyline
Feeding a Growing Population: GMOs and Food Security is a standards-aligned life science unit to help students understand GMOs and their benefits in feeding the future.
Prairie Protector - Video Tutorial
Need a quick start guide before playing the Prairie Protector digital game? Watch the video below to see a quick walk-through tutorial to learn a bit about the game and some useful tips.
Beyond the Box - CASNR Edition
This edition of Beyond the Box is another interactive career exploration resource using Museum-in-a-Box technology that focuses on the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Users are able to hear personal stories from UNL faculty and staff about how they found their careers, how they make an impact on the SDGs through their work, and any advice they may have for those who are wanting to find a similar path.
Milkweed in the Classroom provides a collection of resources designed to help students investigate the monarch butterfly migration as a locally relevant phenomenon. Through a series of standards-aligned lessons, students will ask questions, analyze available data, and construct a scientific argument to answer the guiding question, “How has the monarch migration has changed over time and why?”.
Prairie Protector - Video Game
The Sandhills and other grasslands in the Great Plains are currently threatened by what is being called "the green glacier"-- a slow but steady encroachment of invasive tree species into ecosystems which have traditionally been dominated by grasses and wildflowers. These invasive species not only threaten the habitat of native wildlife but also threaten the livelihood of ranchers who depend on the vast grasslands to feed their livestock. In Prairie Protector, test your skills at defending the High Plains from this threat!