Women in Science and Math HERstory Quiz Game by Grace Foote Johns
I developed this fun game exercise several years ago as a way for students to learn about the contributions of women to scientific discovery. Students receive a copy of a National Women's History Project (NWHP) Women in Science special newspaper section resource upon which I based the game. NWHP has given me permission to reprint the newspaper for educational purposes in conjunction with my school presentations.
Groups of three or four students are teamed together to work on answering the history questions (there are page clues to find the answers in the newspaper reprint). After 20 minutes, three or four teams then compete to answer the questions during what I call the "lightning round.". Each team has a button light they must push before they answer each question. The team who says the answer correctly first gets two points, each other team with the correct answer gets one point. After all of the questions are answered in what is usually a very enthusiastic game, the points are added up. The team with the most points gets a special prize--it varies from optics toys to free registrations for the team members to ISU's next EYH Conference. All participants receive their game materials (the newspaper, game sheet, fancy pencils to write with) as well as some special prizes donated by the ISU Physics Department--including free Planetarium passes donated by the ISU Planetarium, Women in Science bookmarks, etc.
The Women in Science and Math HERstory Quiz Game sheet pdf.
If you would like me to visit your school or community group to conduct this quiz game exercise, view the Quiz Game Flyer for more information.
Educators can also develop their own "Quiz Game" exercise along similar or other topics.
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Page last updated 7/8/04gfj