The Nitrogen Cycle Game

Provided by: My NASA Data |Published on: February 9, 2026

Games

345678

Synopsis

In this slides-based game from My NASA Data, students will act as nitrogen molecules and move through the nitrogen cycle.
Students will learn how nitrogen moves from one place to another and how human activities impact the nitrogen cycle.

Related Teaching Resources

Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences

Authors: My NASA Data

Region: Global

Languages: English

View Resource

Teaching Materials

Positives

The pre-built Google Form is a great, quick assessment to determine students' understanding.
Students will love moving through the nitrogen cycle in a game!

Prerequisites

It may benefit students to be familiar with other cycles in Earth's systems, like the water and carbon cycles.

Differentiation & Implementation

Students may benefit from having a note-taking guide to add to as they watch the nitrogen cycle video and move through the stations in the game.
Teachers can modify this game to get students up and moving by printing or using multiple devices to display the stations around the room. Students can physically move through the stations, discussing with other students how they got there.
To help students understand the connection to climate change, they can get to know nitrous oxide as a greenhouse gas through this video.
For a more immersive experience, teachers can provide students with the slide show link already in slide show mode, so they need only to click the linked pictures and words to move from station to station.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format

About the Partner Provider

My NASA Data

NASA offers petabytes of global Earth science data collected from satellites, but accessing these data in a traditional (or virtual) science classroom can be tricky. Since 2004, My NASA Data has supported students and teachers of grades 3-12 in analyzing and interpreting NASA mission data.

Related Teaching Resources

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.