Please note - rEvolution is temporarily offline for security fixes
rEvolution is a collection of online games, designed by the Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies (CARET) and departments of biological science at the University of Cambridge, to introduce and reinforce key concepts in biology, ecology and plant science. They might make enjoyable activities for your science students at the end of term, as a plenary, or for a STEM science club.
Extinct - Are you smarter than a plant?
What strategies do plants need to survive and reproduce - and how are they different for wild and cultivated plants?
Phloem and Xylem
A fun way to remind students about the role of phloem and xylem in plants. Students put together the 'jigsaw puzzle' of parts before the water and sap run out.
Seed Dispersal
This game looks at how plants have evolved seeds dispersed by the wind, and compares how easily different designs of seed can colonise a landscape.
Before playing the seed dispersal game, you may want to try out the seed dispersal quiz.
Plant Defences
How do plants evolve to suit their surroundings? In this game, students choose passive and aggressive defence mechanisms for their 'plant', and see how well they defend it against a variety of dangers, from lawnmowers to viruses.
Pollen Racing
Race to direct grains of pollen into the eggs
Designing a Plant
Flowering plants have evolved to attract specific kinds of pollinators. In this game, students create their own flower and test how successful their design is at attracting pollinators.
Dissect a Plant
An online 'dissection' of a flower part by part, with an emphasis on pollination and reproduction.
Ecosystems
A game putting together a simple food system - balance the numbers of primary producers and consumers.
Keystone Species
A brief slideshow looking at the role of keystone species and the Strangler Fig.
Decomposition, the Nitrogen Cycle, and the Carbon Cycle
Looking at DNA
Three 'slideshows' looking at DNA in the lab:
Making DNA in the lab using bacteria
