This game was intended to get the kids thinking about the food chain, life cycle, limited resources, and the impacts of humans on an ecosystem. Basically, the kids - all 180 of them - were divided into Herbivores, Omnivores, and Carnivores (and wore green, blue, and red respectively) Each got a 'life ring' with a certain number of slips of green, blue or red paper on it and a 'life card'. To survive Life, they each had to have at least one slip of paper left on their life ring and:
Herbivores had to color in their life card at all five food stations and five water stations.
Omnivores had to color in their card at 3 food stations, 5 water stations, and 'eat' (tag) two herbivores, taking a slip from their life ring as evidence.
Carnivores had to fill in their card at 5 water stations and 'eat' (tag) 10 omnivores or herbivores.
There were a couple kids with sports injuries who asked if they could opt out of playing since they couldn't run. I said no, and encouraged them to think about what life would be like for an injured carnivore, omnivore, or herbivore. One boy definitely took up this challenge. He was a carnivore, so he joined a 'pack' and the others would chase a herbivore toward him so he could eat.
The best part, though, was the teachers. All teachers and student teachers were dressed up as disasters, both natural and man made. We then ran around with super soakers shooting all the students. In the picture below, you can see us as The Mad Scientist, The Hunter, Plague/Disease, Old Age, Famine, Flood, Fire, (a moderator to make sure kids weren't too crazy) and Drought. I was Old Age and I really didn't mean to block Dasol in the picture, but I had absolutely no peripheral vision in that mask and figured people could arrange themselves around me.
In all honesty, some of the kids at ANI are ridiculously fast. So when a few boys taunted me, I knew I couldn't outrun them. I made a mental note and bided my time for an ambush. This is not to say I didn't run a lot during the game. Sometimes it was fun just to give it my best shot and chase after them. After all, I did have a ranged weapon. We'd gotten cheap water guns, but I still had a 3 meter advantage. I was quite grateful for all the workouts I've been doing. I'd say I did a fine job of chasing down innocent teenagers, and I wasn't even 'completely knackered' afterwards, as New Zealanders would say.