Memory Activity

This easy and fun science activity is a great way for your child to learn something new while celebrating a special birthday

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Memory Activity

What you will need:

• A plate
• A partner
• 15 Small Random Objects From Around the House
• A Small Blanket or Towel
• Some Paper
• A Timer

Directions:

1. Decide who is going to play the memory game first and have the 2nd partner (not playing first) go collect 15 small items from around the house and put them on the plate. Make sure the 1st partner does not see what objects are on the plate.
2. When all the 15 items have been gathered, get the 2nd partner to time 2:00 minutes on the timer. During that time the 1st partner has to try to memorize as many objects on the plate as possible.
3. When the 2 minutes are up have the 1st partner say as many objects as they can remember as possible, while the 2nd partner writes what they say down on the paper. Count up the number of objects that your partner remembered.
4. Then get the 1st partner to write down any strategies that they used to try and remember the most objects possible.
5. Then have the 1st partner go get 15 other objects from around the house without the 2nd partner seeing. Then repeat the game with the 2nd partner.

How does it happen?

• You may have only remembered 7-8 items on the plate, but that is normal. The majority of people are only able to recall 7 or 8 things in this type of situation because that is typically how many items we are able to remember in our short term memory at once.
• Did you use any strategies to remember the items on the plate? Maybe you said each of the objects out loud and repeated them?
  
  • This is called rehearsal and is a common strategy people use to try and keep a small number of items in their short-term memory.
    
  • Doing things like grouping objects together can also help you remember more items. You can group them in your head using different groups like colour, type, size. For example if you tried to remember objects by grouping them together in your head by their uses you are using this grouping strategy.
• Now that you know about some strategies for remembering more things, try this game another time with different objects while using one of these strategies to see how many more objects you can remember! You can also test out which strategies are the best for remembering by testing out which ones allow you to remember the most objects!