Parents' Notes

This website will enrich and extend knowledge and understanding of Science while introducing new Scientific terminology in Gaelic through a fun, challenging, interactive and enjoyable Science Safari (Safaraidh Saidheans) theme. It is aimed at learners working towards the first and second levels of the new Scottish curriculum.

The user has the opportunity to drive a van around the safari, playing three games Misean bhiadhan (Biadhan's Mission), Abair Biastag (Bug Out) and Tòg Fhèin E! (Build It Yourself), collecting science cards en route. These games can either be accessed through the map or alternatively by closing the map and driving to each game.

The Science cards have text and video or audio. There is an opportunity to sort the cards or to swap them with the computer. The ultimate safari challenge is to collect all 90 science cards. Some of the cards are Doing Cards with the opportunity to support the user in practical activities.

The user can view the science cards from the back of the van. This can be done by choosing the doors icon at the top of the screen or simply by pressing the back of the van.

Five free cards are awarded at the beginning of the safari. Players are awarded more cards by playing the games and driving through the safari between games.

The work will only be saved on the computer on which they are working at the time and it will only be possible to load the piece of work on that particular machine in the future. There is a risk of loosing saved cards should more than one person log onto the same computer with the same user name. If users save several large pieces of work on the same computer a dialogue box could appear asking users if they want to allocate more computer memory. Users will have to agree to this before being able to save any more work.

The Games

This fun game is about materials and their properties. The player chooses the material that will get the character, Biadhan, through each puzzle. The game can be played as it is or there is an option to use tòimhseachan where the player will only be asked the questions. Further research on materials and their properties can be done through the being stuthan.

This game is about identifying and classifying living things using a scientific key. The player uses yes/no answers to a range of questions to find out about a group of rainforest crawlies. Once the mini-beasts have been tracked down and identified, the player is asked to sort them into groups. This section of the game gets the player thinking about the different families that living things belong to.

When solving pre-made puzzles, the player usually alters the properties of one of the materials to change the behaviour of the moving item. When creating their own games, players drag objects into the playing area from the toolbar. Players can set keys on the keyboard to move objects in the game.

If you would like to get involved with the child's learning, the following questions and activities may help stimulate discussion.

• Put a few different objects of different material in a bag and see if the child can guess what they are by feeling them.
• Explore and talk about the properties of safe house-hold objects.
• Discuss the properties of different things in the environment - e.g. parts of different modes of transport, safety clothing.

• Go on a mini-beast hunt.
• Get outside together and sketch the things you find.
• Ask your child to make their own key using the living things they've found.

• Discuss the impact of changing the properties of different materials in the game.
• Experiment with different materials and their properties, discussing their impact.
• Design a successful target game using the fewest/most number of different objects.