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Disaster Logistics Command

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Grades 9-1275-90 minSource: Creative Dad Company

Students take on the role of emergency managers, allocating limited trucks, supplies, and staff across a simulated disaster map where roads keep closing. It's a tense, strategic exercise in doing the most good with never quite enough resources.

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Prep: 10 minActivity: 30 min1 session~$2/groupOne table for the Disaster Logistics Command evidence and prototypeBeginner-friendly

Setup

Print or handwrite the four Disaster Logistics Command challenge steps and place common paper supplies on one table. Prepare one small sample, dataset, scenario, or recycled-material model drawn directly from the project description; no device, paid tool, room decoration, or purchased kit is required.

Activity

  1. Read the Disaster Logistics Command challenge aloud, then study a printed map of a disaster zone and predict which routes and supply depots will matter most in the first 24 hours.
  2. Use paper, index cards, recycled objects, or facilitator-provided sample data to build a distribution plan assigning trucks, water, and staff to each affected area under a strict budget.
  3. Run one tabletop trial and roll for a random road closure or supply shortage mid-round and rework the plan on the fly to reach the areas that need help most.
  4. Finish by report the final outcomes—who was reached, who wasn't, and why—to the group and defend the tradeoffs the team made; record the evidence that supports the decision.

Done when: The group completes a defensible Disaster Logistics Command solution, records at least one test result or comparison, changes one claim or design in response, and supports its final decision with that evidence.

Materials

printed map, dice, string, sticky dot labels, index cards, small whiteboard

Shown for the Quick Start version — switch tabs above to see what changes.

Disclosure: Materials links below go to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Steps

  1. Study a printed map of a disaster zone and predict which routes and supply depots will matter most in the first 24 hours.
  2. Build a distribution plan assigning trucks, water, and staff to each affected area under a strict budget.
  3. Roll for a random road closure or supply shortage mid-round and rework the plan on the fly to reach the areas that need help most.
  4. Report the final outcomes—who was reached, who wasn't, and why—to the group and defend the tradeoffs the team made.