Lava Field

Lava Field is a natural selection lab built around a real animal. Rock pocket mice in the Sonoran Desert are mostly sandy tan on pale rock and mostly near black on old lava flows, and scientists have counted them and found the gene behind the dark fur. Students start with those real counts, hunt the mice as an owl, and then run populations for 15 generations to see how the share of dark mice changes on each kind of ground.

The eight pages

• Two kinds of ground: real field counts from the Pinacate and Armendaris lava flows, as percentages.
• Be the owl: 15 seconds to catch mice on pale rock, then on black lava.
• Predict, then run: a generation-by-generation bar chart, using the student's own catch rates.
• The same mice on pale rock, to show that the environment decides which trait helps.
• One new mutation: run it ten times and see how often chance loses the new allele.
• Why light mice hang on: a Dd × Dd Punnett square.
• When the ground changes too fast: a population with no dark mice dies out, and one with six recovers.
• Field notebook: claim, evidence, and reasoning, printed on one page, plus a Field Scientist certificate.

Good to know

• Most students finish in one 45 to 60 minute period. Aligned to MS-LS4-4.
• Students record a prediction before Run unlocks. Students who can't click quickly can let the lab run the hunt.
• Includes a teacher guide with pacing, an answer key, a scoring guide, misconceptions, discussion questions, and a class data sheet.

Grades: Grades 6 to 9.

How you get your files
After checkout, the download link is on the order page and in your confirmation email. Unzip the folder and open the HTML file in Chrome or Edge. It works offline, and students do not need an account.

Questions? support@trailposteducation.com