Fun History Games for Kids

Learning history can be fun! history image by Ewe Degiampietro from Fotolia.com

History lessons do not have to be a chore. By throwing a few games into the mix, teachers and parents can make history come alive for their students and children.

Hopping Through History

This simple game has the player controlling a frog that must leap into the air to catch the flies overhead. However, the frog cannot reach them without something to stand on. In order to create platforms to reach the flies, he must answer history questions. At the same time, he must avoid the crow that is trying to catch him. This game seeks to mix history review with arcade game play.

Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail series has been on home and school computers since the late 1970s. It is regularly upgraded to keep the graphics presentable and to add new features. Players control a family of pioneers making the journey west to Oregon in a covered wagon. Along the way, children must read maps and make life-or-death decisions that will affect the safety of the family as it travels across the harsh American plains.

Argument Wars

Argument Wars is a free game about the history of Constitutional Law designed for students in grades six and up. The player's must represent one side in about half a dozen historic Supreme Court cases. These include Brown v. Board of Education, which declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, and Miranda v. Arizona from which the famous "Miranda Rights" emerged. Each court battle takes the form of a card game in which players play cards that represent arguments they can use in court to support their case. Students must choose the most powerful cards that support their own position. In most cases, the students can play, and potentially win, from either side of the historic cases.

Discover Babylon

This game, published by the Federation of American Scientists, provides children of ages 8 to 14 with an open-ended interface to explore and learn about ancient Mesopotamian civilization. Among other things, these people living in what is now Iraq were among the first to develop written language, create the first known laws, and literary art.

References

• Kids Past: Hopping Through History
• Gamespot: Oregon Trail
• Playing History: Argument Wars
• Federation of American Scientists: Discover Babylon