Excavate! Egypt
Free to Play Online Now
Apply C3 skills in this middle school social studies game that brings the ancient civilization of Egypt to life through archaeology.
Game Overview
Piece together the daily life of ancient Egypt in this immersive social studies educational game! Use archaeological thinking to apply C3 skills of Inquiry and Evaluation of Evidence to aspects of Egyptian daily life not covered in textbooks.
Excavate and analyze four significant locations to make connections and deduce facts about the people who lived, worked and played there. Explore a worker’s village in Giza and the temple of Karnak, that highlight very different lifestyles and illustrate social class differences. Investigate the Valley of the Kings, where past Pharaohs are mummified. Examine the library at Alexandria to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of learning and studying. Visit the sites in any order; your progress will be recorded in journals that log collected artifacts, field notes and achievements. At each location, make meaning of how artifacts were used through a series of analysis questions and reports that help you consider the historical context of the primary source artifacts to make connections.
Finally, players see each site come alive as artifacts populate a historically accurate image of Egyptian life.
Featured Learning Goals:
- Explore the significance of mummification in the Valley of the Kings
- Gain a new perspective on the temple at Karnak
- Distinguish the roles of men, women, and children in ancient Egypt
- Piece together daily life of the Pyramid workers in Giza
- Describe the lifestyle and role of scribes and students at the library in Alexandria
- Explain the rule and symbols of the Pharaohs
Game Download Options
This world history educational product is available for online browser play at our store and for tablets and phones at one of the app stores below. iOS and Android tablets are supported.
Price: Free
Curriculum Materials
- Teacher’s Guide – a step-by-step guide for game-play as well as a resource containing all content and answers. (2 Files – Excavate Overview & Egypt Content Guide)
- Inquiry-Based Analysis Lesson (D-I-E) – Activate student interest before playing Excavate! Egypt by inviting students to describe artifacts and hypothesize their use in ancient Egypt. Use the D-I-E lessons to record observations during game-play and to check their hypotheses for accuracy. It is a fun way to prepare and engage with content while playing Excavate! Egypt. (Answer sheet included)
- Artifact-Based Question Prompt (ABQ) – Each location in Excavate! Egypt culminates with a beautifully rendered scene that incorporates all excavated artifacts in an historically accurate scene. Use this scene combined with artifacts from the game to have your students answer a DBQ assignment that will demonstrate their learning. (rubric included)
- Excavate! Egypt Card Game – Check for student understanding from our video game by having students play a card game cooperatively! Students will make connections between artifacts, locations and people in this divergent thinking game. (printable pdf)
C3 Framework for Social Studies Standards
- D2.Civ.1.6-8. Distinguish the powers and responsibilities of citizens, political parties, interest groups, and the media in a variety of governmental and nongovernmental contexts.
- D2.Civ.2.6-8. Explain specific roles played by citizens (such as voters, jurors, taxpayers, members of the armed forces, petitioners, protesters, and office-holders).
- D2.Eco.1.6-8. Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society.
- D2.Eco.4.3-5. Explain why individuals and businesses specialize and trade.
- D2.Geo.6.6-8. Explain how the physical and human characteristics of places and regions are connected to human identities and cultures.
- D2.Geo.7.3-5. Explain how cultural and environmental characteristics affect the distribution and movement of people, goods, and ideas.
- D2.His.9.3-5. Summarize how different kinds of historical sources are used to explain events in the past.
- D2.His.3.6-8.Use questions generated about individuals and groups to analyze why they, and the developments they shaped, are seen as historically significant.
GBLxAPI
The Excavate! Rome educational game includes the new GBLxAPI standard developed through the support of the National Science Foundation. GBLxAPI creates a common standard for analytics collection across game-based learning and other digital educational products. In the Excavate! Rome game, GBLxAPI is used to track student progress against C3 and ELA education standards in an easy to read format. Learn more about this standard and how it can help you evaluate your students’ learning at gblxapi.org.
Platform Support
Six World Civilizations
Mesopotamia – Egypt – Greece – Rome – MesoAmerica – Byzantine
Game Reviews
Questions regarding how to use in the classroom?