1. Arrange students into groups. Each group needs at least ONE person who has a mobile device.
2. If their phone camera doesn't automatically detect and decode QR codes, ask students to
4. Cut them out and place them around your class / school.
1. Give each group a clipboard and a piece of paper so they can write down the decoded questions and their answers to them.
2. Explain to the students that the codes are hidden around the school. Each team will get ONE point for each question they correctly decode and copy down onto their sheet, and a further TWO points if they can then provide the correct answer and write this down underneath the question.
3. Away they go! The winner is the first team to return with the most correct answers in the time available. This could be within a lesson, or during a lunchbreak, or even over several days!
4. A detailed case study in how to set up a successful QR Scavenger Hunt using this tool can be found here.
Question | Answer |
1. When in the ocean, a lot of marine debris is swallowed by Marine animals, especially fish. Do you think that fish accidently swallow the plastic, or do you think that they actively seek it out? If you think that fish accidently swallow it, find an organic waste bin with a QR code above it. If you think that fish actively seek out plastic in the ocean to eat, find a garbage bin with a QR code above it. | Fish actively seek out plastic | 2. CORRECT. Fish actively seek out plastic. Many fish in the ocean actively seek out plastic to eat, because if it has been sitting in the ocean for long enough, it picks up chemicals and begins to seem similar to a fish’s regular diet. Your next question is about why this plastic is appealing to fish. Do you think that plastic is appealing to fish because when in the Ocean for a while, it begins to smell like their regular food, or it begins to look like their regular food? If you think smell, go find a QR code with orange on it, and if you think look, go find a QR code with green on it. | Plastic begins to smell like regular food | 3. CORRECT. Plastic begins to smell like regular food. Fish eat plastic in the Ocean because it goes through a process called biofouling, where algae and chemicals that smell like algae coat a piece of plastic making it smell attractive to a fish seeking food. Your next question is about what part of the plastic in Oceans is more harming to a fish. Do you think that a large piece of plastic by itself is more harming to a fish, or a piece of micro-plastic that has been sitting in the Ocean for a year is more harming? If you think a large piece of plastic is more harming, go find a water fountain with a QR code above it, and if you think micro-plastics in the Ocean are more harming, go find a team sign with a QR code above or below it. | Micro-plastics are more harming. | 4. CORRECT. Miro-plastics are more harming. Micro-plastics that have been sitting in the ocean are super dangerous for fish, because of all the chemicals that it absorbs while sitting in the Ocean. Your next question is about the plastic when it is inside the fish. When fish swallow a piece of plastic, do you think that the whole piece of plastic and chemicals just sits in the stomach, that the fish absorbs the whole piece into its tissues, or that it just absorbs the chemicals on the plastic? If you think the whole piece just sits there, go find a QR code on a pole in the courtyard. If you think that whole is absorbed, find a picnic table with a QR code on it. If you think that only the chemicals are absorbed, find a team sink with a QR code on it. | The chemicals are absorbed. | 5. CORRECT. The chemicals are absorbed by the fish. When fish swallow plastic, not only does it block intestines often times fish absorb the chemicals into their bloodstreams or muscle and fat tissues, which can have serious health effects. Some effects include reduced activity rates, blocked intestines, liver problems and weakened schooling behaviour. Plastic has severe effects on fish, but do you think plastic moves on and harms other things? If you think that the animal eating the plastic directly is the only one who is harmed, go to the gym and find a QR code. If you think many other creatures can be harmed because one fish eats some plastic, go to the explorations corner and find a QR code. | Multiple creatures are harmed | 6. CORRECT. Multiple creatures are harmed. When one fish, who is near the bottom of the food chain eats a piece of plastic, affecting every creature who eats that fish, or eats the creature who ate the fish. Do you think that sometimes this plastic reaches us through the food chain? If you think yes, find a QR code on the wolf doors. If you think no, find a QR code on the orca doors. | Plastic eaten by fish can harm us | 7. CORRECT. Plastic eaten by fish can harm us. The plastic that we throw into the ocean has a way of coming back to haunt us, by getting into our bodies because we eat fish that have eaten plastic in the ocean. As a regular seafood eater, how many pieces of plastic do you think you would consume per year on average? If you think less than 10 000, find a QR code on Ms. Moody’s classroom door. If you think between 10 000 and 15 000, find a QR code on Ms. Budd’s classroom door. If you think more than 15 000, find a QR code on Ms. Murdoch’s classroom door. | Between 10 000 and 15 000. | 8. CORRECT. On average, regular seafood eaters ingest 11 000 pieces of plastic per year. It doesn’t sound like a ton, because the pieces of plastic are tiny. However, in the next 50 years, this number could reach a scary 780 000 per year with us absorbing about 4 000 into muscle and fat tissue, if we keep throwing plastic into the ocean the way we are now. This plastic reaches us because fish absorb the pieces into their tissues, the muscle and fat which are the parts we eat. Do you think contaminated fish are posing a big threat in Canada, or do you think they are mainly found in other parts of the world? If you think contaminated fish have been found in Canada, find a QR code on the front doors on the Anmore side. If you think that they aren’t a problem in Canada, find a QR code on the doors in the Port Moody side. | Contaminated fish are found in Canada. | 9. CORRECT. Contaminated fish are found in Canada, as well as in Europe, Brazil and China, which means that humans ingesting plastic is a problem worldwide. Do you think that humans ingesting plastic from seafood negatively impacts us or do you think that it has no effect on us at all? If you think it impacts us, find a QR code on the bear doors. If you think it has no effect on us, find a QR code on the eagle doors. | Plastic does harm us. | 10. CORRECT. Plastic does harm us. The toxins in plastic have been linked to cancer, birth defects, childhood development issues, and immune system problems. These effects are all severe and some are life threatening. These pieces of plastic get inside of us because they start the bottom of the food chain, inside fish. Because of these affects, do you think you should start protecting our oceans, and recycling plastic? If you think yes, find a QR code on a window outside Ms. Moody’s room. If you think no, find a QR code on the window inside Ms. Moody’s classroom. | Yes we should start protecting |
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