Since I teach online, I’m always coming up with new activities for my students to complete. I thought I would share one of the activities in my Underwater Forests: Kelp Ecosystems course I’m teaching this semester. We’re looking more closely at Macrocystis pyrifera this week, so I’m assigning a Minecraft activity where students will observe and experiment with Minecraft’s version of kelp. They are not only learning more about real life giant kelp, but they’re also practicing running experiments.

For my students who follow me here–spoilers!

Minecraft recently added kelp into the game, which gives us the perfect opportunity to investigate its properties!

Find a natural kelp forest in Minecraft. 

Plant a kelp individual in fairly deep water. How long does it take to grow a block higher? Time it! Try it again with a few more individuals. Is the time the same for all of them?

Plant a kelp individual in shallow water. How long does it take for it to grow a block higher? Time this one too and try it with several individuals! Does it take a shorter amount of time?

Compare this data to real kelp organisms. Do you think the time it takes for kelp to grow would differ between shallow and deep water? If so, how?

Finally, take a look at the surface of the water. Does the kelp keep growing at the surface? How does this compare to a real kelp forest?

Write down your results and thoughts in at least six interesting sentences. Good luck & have fun!

I’m looking forward to seeing what they discover!