Cookie Mining: A Hands-On Simulation of Economics & Environmental Impact

Searching for a new and exciting hands-on activity that is engaging without needing all the tools of a lab? Engage middle and high school students in a dynamic Cookie Mining Simulation, where they take on the role of mining companies extracting valuable resources—chocolate chips—from a cookie! Through this interactive, hands-on activity, students will experience the real-world challenges of mining, including economic shifts, environmental concerns, government regulations, and corporate decision-making.

Students begin with a mine and they must carefully extract their "ores". After their mining round is complete, they now must considering financial constraints, market demand, and environmental consequences. With each round of mining, they roll a dice-based event that introduces new economic opportunities or environmental challenges—from lawsuits and policy changes to ore price spikes and worker strikes. At the end of the activity, students analyze their profits, discuss the environmental impact, and reflect on sustainable mining practices.

This simulation helps students to understand the balance between profitability and environmental responsibility, explore economic principals such as resource management and financial risk, analyze real-world mining challenges and decision-making and reflect on long-term impacts and sustainability within the mining industry.

What's Included:

• PDF with Instructions, Map and link to Google Slides presentation

What you need beyond paper and ink:

• Cookies, Dice, Toothpicks, Paper clips, and Cotton Swabs

This engaging and thought-provoking resource is perfect for economics, environmental science, and social studies classrooms as it helps students connect classroom concepts to real-world industry practices. Can your students mine responsibly, or will profits come at a cost?

To access the resource, you must download the PDF, then click the link within to make a copy! This is a Google Sheets activity and requires access to Google Suite for staff and students.

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