The Limpet Game

Source:

'Natural Leaders' - Environmental Games and Activities by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) /Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) available from NTS

Time

10-20 minutes

You will need

Limpets

Did you know?

Limpets in sheltered places grow bigger and taller than limpets in very exposed places

Before the activity

Look for limpets on rocks at the seashore. Get each child to gently touch one and experience how the limpet tightens itself onto the rock when it feels their touch. Ask them if they can pull it off the rock now? (don't let them kick them or knock them with a stone, they just need to try pulling - just to feel the tremendous grip of such a little creature). Discuss why it is a good thing to be able to grip so hard to the rock if you are a limpet (protects them from being knocked off their rock and eaten by predators or bashed about by big waves). Explain how the limpet grinds a groove in the rock, into which it exactly fits. When the tide comes in, it moves around under the water and feeds on seaweed, when the tide starts to go out it returns to its 'home' spot.

The activity

1. ask the children to space out well on a sandy area of the beach
2. each child draws a big circle around their feet. They are a 'limpet' and this is 'their home on a rock'.
3. when the leader shouts 'The tide is in' all the 'limpets' move out of their circles and run around looking for seaweed to feed on
4. when the leader shouts 'The tide is going out' the children rush back to their 'homes'.
5. the leader becomes a 'gull' and has to get to a 'home' before the limpet. If the' limpet' gets back too late, their circle is rubbed out and they become a 'gull' too.
6. the 'gulls' can only catch the 'limpets' (go to the limpet circles) when the tide is out. To make it harder for the 'gulls' to catch the 'limpets' there could be two tide out calls. One ''the tide is going out'' sets the 'limpets' running back; the second shout very soon after, is  ''tide is out'' which sets the 'gulls' running. 

Suggested Follow up

Pretend to be other plants and animals in the tidal zone. First show the children the flotation bladders on the seaweed and see if they can guess what they do for the plant. Also show them sea anemones in rock pools. Show them how their tentacles are out feeding when they are in a rock pool with water but that they look very different where they are attached to rocks out of the water, where their tentacles have been drawn into their bodies.

This time when the leader shouts ''the tide is in'' the children can pretend to be 'seaweed' floating in the water or  'anemones' fixed to a spot but with their arms waving about feeding and their hands waggling. When the leader shouts ''the tide is out'' the children need to collapse and lie on the ground (seaweed) or crouch down and tuck their hands and arms tight into their bodies (anemones).

Collect empty limpet shells and bits of seaweed and some sand to make a collage / wall frieze of a rock pool.

Curriculum Links

• Science
• Expressive Arts

Age Range

1,2