Now, learning the Periodic Table can be a tricky business. I mean, wouldn’t it be better if you could learn all the elements and still have fun? Well, one innovative mom of four has come up with the perfect solution, a periodic table battleship game that combines learning with having fun.
Karyn Tripp, a former teacher, who now homeschools her own four children, came up with the bright idea of transforming the game of Battleship into Periodic Table Battleship. Having played Battleship a lot with her family, she decided that re-inventing the game to include the Periodic Table would be a fantastic way for her kids to learn about the elements and memorize them in a more fun way.
Tripp’s Periodic Table Battleship game was a huge hit, even with her kids, who hadn’t started to learn about chemistry yet. What’s more, her eldest son now loves chemistry! And the good news is, it’s super easy to play, with simple rules, and you can play it with anyone, even younger kids who might not yet be aware of the Periodic Table.
After all, the goal is the same; to sink your opponent’s battleship! But instead of sinking the other battleships by shouting out positions and coordinates, you navigate by shouting out the elements—great fun for kids who might not love science, but enjoy a game or two, as they’re learning without even realizing it! And you don’t always need an adult to play; kids can play the game with their friends, so they’re continuing to learn, even in their free time.
Karen Tripp manages her own blog on her website, Teach Beside Me, where she also provides simple, step-by-step instructions for making your own Periodic Table Battleship game, so you can easily print them out, make your own game and keep the instructions for reference. The Teach Beside Me blog also provides a ton of other teaching resources and fun ideas for teaching kids with a creative edge.
To make your own game, you only need to get four copies of the Period Table, two file folders, paper clips, and a couple of dry-erase markers—super simple! You can easily print out the Periodic Table online; for everything else, you probably already have them at home.
But if you don’t quite fancy making your own Periodic Table Battleship, or perhaps you’re just not as crafty as you might have hoped, you can just as easily buy one ready-made from Tripp’s Etsy shop. Plus, the ready-made one comes with a handy sheet of instructions—ideal for setting up the game at home!
