City of Ember

The city of Ember has existed, relatively unchanged, for more than 200 years.  What would our world look like to an observer 200 years in the future?  Students will learn about the evolution and purpose of time capsules before creating their own.

Lina works to decipher secret message she finds.  In this activity, students are introduced to cryptography, using what they learn to create and read coded messages.

Ember is powered by a hydropower generator.  In this activity, students learn about converting water to electrical energy and build their own small generator.

How do skyscrapers stay up at those heights?  In this activity, students learn and use basic principles of physics to construct their own towers – out of spaghetti and marshmallows!

Could people really live underground?  After learning about real-life “underground cities,” students are invited to design their own underground city, tackling both traditional city planning challenges and those that come from building in a place with no naturally occurring fresh air or sunlight.

Using clues from the book, students navigate a map of Ember to steer Lina to her sister, Poppy.

The people of Ember live in intermittent darkness, with the lights threatening to go out forever.  In this activity, students learn about a real blackout and are invited to write their own “blackout survivor blog,” putting themselves in the shoes of a regular person on the day the lights went out.

Activities introduce students to how light bulbs and electrical circuits work - and help them to create their own!

Get acquainted with City of Ember!  The welcome pages include information on the Books of Ember, national standards information, and a letter from author Jeanne DuPrau.