Oh Deer! Population Game

Students act as deer and habitat resources in a kinesthetic game that models population dynamics. The activity shows how food, water, and shelter limit population size and illustrates the concepts of carrying capacity and limiting factors.

1. Mark two parallel lines or areas in an open space: one side for deer, the other for habitat resources.
2. Divide students into two groups: deer and habitat resources.
3. Each deer secretly chooses which resource it needs that round (food, water, or shelter), and signals this with a hand gesture (e.g., stomach for food, hands over head for shelter).
4. Each resource student chooses which resource they represent that round (food, water, or shelter).
5. On the teacher’s signal (“Oh, Deer!”), deer and resources turn to face each other and move forward.
6. Deer must find and match with a resource that provides what they need. If successful, the deer survives the round; if not, it dies.
7. Deer that die switch roles and become habitat resources in the next round.
8. Record the number of surviving deer after each round.
9. Repeat for 7–15 rounds to observe population fluctuations and carrying capacity.
10. At the end, plot deer population over time and discuss patterns.

Ecosystems - Animal Population Game - Oh Deer! - Rick Crosslin:

Oh, deer! 5 minutes (trimmed) - Michigan DNR Education and PD Opportunities!:

📄 Project WILD Activity “Oh Deer!” - idrange.org: https://idrange.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Oh-Deer.pdf

• Introduce predators that can tag deer to simulate predation.
• Remove one type of resource (e.g., water) to represent drought or other environmental change.
• Introduce invasive species with different resource needs.
• Adjust reproduction rules to allow deer populations to grow faster or slower.
• Modify the ecosystem to represent different biomes (forest, desert, grassland).

• Play in a safe, open area free of obstacles.
• Use clear signals and rules to avoid collisions when students move toward resources.
• Assign non-running roles (recorders, observers) for students who cannot participate in active play.
• Ensure supervision to manage excitement and maintain order.

• What happened to the deer population when resources were abundant? (It increased due to low competition.)
• What happened when resources were scarce? (The population decreased as deer could not survive without matching resources.)
• How does this game illustrate the concept of carrying capacity? (It shows the maximum number of deer that the environment can support at once.)
• What are examples of limiting factors in this simulation? (Food, water, shelter, predators, environmental conditions.)
• How is the game realistic, and how is it unrealistic compared to natural ecosystems? (Realistic: populations fluctuate with resources; Unrealistic: death occurs instantly and only one resource is needed each round.)