The drakon population has been suffering and needs revival. Tyto Academy students help breed more biodiversity into the drakons genetic pool. After breeding, they are released into the wild to improve their survival rates.
MS-LS1-5, MS-LS3-1, MS-LS3-2, MS-LS4-5
Genetics; asexual reproduction, sexual reproduction, inheritance, mutations, Punnett squares
The sandbox has a goal of increasing genetic diversity to help repopulate creatures which is seen in many zoos and rehabilitation centers.
Especially with variable expressivity, the possibilities are nearly endless! The drakons have many, complex genotypes and phenotypes. We start with simple dominant and recessive alleles, then as they level up unlocks so much more: mutations, environmentally impacted genes, polygenetic inheritance, incomplete and co-dominance, and more!
Drakons have asexual and sexual capabilities; track with a pedigree system. Drakons can reproduce sexually or asexually so that students can experiment and understand the outcomes of the different types of reproduction. A pedigree system helps students keep track of reproduction lines over time.
Start with simple activities like the one at right, "Create This Drakon," where players will be asked to create a drakon (one of the required genotypes of recessive) based on breeding from their collection. This then builds up to explore types of reproduction, creating identical drakons, setting their own breeding goals, and an activity to explore probability.
