In Kyle Stadalman’s seventh grade science classes, students have been placing their bets on what species will win March Mammal Madness.
The game is played across the nation and is organized by a team of professionals. Biologists, mammalogists and professors from around the country put a bracket together and ask who would hypothetically win.
The project was started 10 years ago by Katie Hinde, a professor at Arizona State University. She started the tournament to mimic the basketball tournament but with the simulated competition of species, Stadalman said.
Stadalman started the activity after he stumbled upon their Twitter account four years ago. The results are live-tweeted by the March Mammal Madness account and recapped in creative videos on their website.
When Stadalman saw the potential to combine the concepts he was teaching in class with March Madness, he knew he had to start the tradition at the middle school.
“It’s awesome. It really highlights inter-species interactions. It highlights habitats and how impactful they can be on species’ survival,” Stadalman said. “I really like it because right now our unit is on natural selection and adaptations and that’s also a big thing with this. It highlights the adaptations species have to survive.”
The activity is used in all of his seventh grade classes but has expanded to include a few elementary and high school students. March Mammal Madness has become bigger with each year, Stadalman said.
“It’s so perfect with my curriculum,” Stadalman said. “We can talk about why the grizzly bear would possibly win, why might it lose, what are the adaptations or strengths that they might have or what are some outside influences that might dictate how the battle happens.”
At the beginning of each class, Stadalman shows the results of the battles the night before. Meanwhile, there is commotion in the classroom as students argue over their picks, cheer for their wins and shout about their losses.
Seventh grader Brenika Rader picked the orca as her championship winner. Rader has enjoyed seeing the unexpected results during class.
“I liked it because it showed us real-world interactions with fighting and stuff,” Rader said. “It had a lot of third parties coming in, which is what would happen in real life.”
Seventh grader Cooper Oehlert chose the black bear to win his bracket and has enjoyed the social aspects of the game.
“I get to compete with my friends and see who is better,” Oehlert said.
Stadalman enjoys the banter and competition that the activity creates. He has the students post their “Final Roar” selections on their lockers and has an up-to-date bracket posted on the wall outside of the classroom.
“It’s fun because you’re learning and you don’t realize how much you’re learning,” Stadalman said. “The kids really like it.”
The competition started March 14 and the final round will take place Wednesday.
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected]
