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A Book In Time » World History Games & Activities
 History Games & Activities
World History
Ancient World –
Middle Ages –
Age of Discovery – Present Era
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ARCHEOLOGY
The Reed Farmstead is an actual archeological site, and allows you to participate in a virtual archeological dig!
Explore the ancient city of Petra as an archeologist .
You are the archeologist at Jamestown , and can practice with the interactive artifact module or the buildings module. For Upper Elementary and older.
Visit this archeological dig based on Catalhoyuk and participate in the fun!
Try several games on archeology from the Museum of Natural History.
Dendrochronology is the art of finding the age of a tree by counting its rings & is a way to establish dates of origin. Learn about & practice the art at this simulation!
The History Channel's Lost Worlds is a computer game that lets you piece together some of the greatest ruins on earth and unlock some of the greatest mysteries of the world!
PREHISTORY
See the world's best-preserved prehistoric cave drawings at the Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc. This cave is only open to scientists, so the virtual tour is the way the general public can get a glimpse.
Another famous cave in France with prehistorical drawings is found in Lascaux. Take a virtual tour!
Learn about Dinosaurs with online games and puzzles for kids!
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Explore Assyria, Babylonia, and Sumer at this site by the British Museum.
The University of Chicago offers several fabulous activities on ancient Mesopotamia.
Write your name in cuneiform just like an ancient Babylonian!
ANCIENT EGYPT
The Birmingham Museum has an "explore an Egyptian tomb" activity, as well as some great activities to print out!
There is a myriad of websites on ancient Egypt, but this one by the British Museum is one of the best! Each section has a story, explore, and challenge section for interactive fun.
National Geographic offers Unraveling the Mysteries of Tutankhamen .
 Computer game Egypt II: The Heliopolis Prophecy takes you in the middle of beautiful ancient Egypt as you try to solve the mystery and stop a deadly disease from spreading through all of Helipolis.
The University of Chicago offers several fabulous Egyptian activities. Their interactive "Prepare a mummy for burial" page is not to be missed!
Another great all-around Egypt site is called Eternal Egypt and offers a wealth of pages to explore.
 Amazing Adventures: The Lost Tomb is a downloadable computer game. Use the ancient map to find the tomb and its treasures!
This site offers 16 great interactive activities, including maps and hieroglyphs! One of our personal favorites is exploring the Egyptian numbering system on an interactive calculator.
Watch a slide show and play interactive games on NOVA's site, Pharaoh's Obelisk, or explore everything about pyramids at their site Pyramids: The Inside Story. Their Secrets of the Pharaohs is also amazing, and covers many Egyptian topics.
Could you oversee a pyramid under construction? Try it with this game from BBC!
Empire Builder-Ancient Egypt is a strategy computer game where you build some of the wonders of the world, as well as protect your people from locust plagues and terrifying mummies!
Another fun activity is to compare the size of the pyramids with the Statue of Liberty and other famous structures (Also at this link, go to their homepage to see the 24-hour PyramidCam!).
Try your hand at making a mummy, interactively, of course!
This site offers "lots of Egyptian stuff", including links to great videos and a link to interactive senet!
This game is all about fun! Explore The Pharaoh's Tomb and collect gold without getting caught in traps!
National Geography offers the computer game, Mystery of Cleopatra. Explore the ancient city of Alexandria and Cleopatra's palace as you solve the mystery.
ANCIENT GREECE
Take a virual tour of the palace at Knossos or scroll down this page to see more pictures.
The Birmingham Museum lets you design a Greek pot online, as well as some other great activities to print out!
The Odyssey - Winds of Athena is a computer game that lets you retrace the route of Ulysses in his attempt to return home from the Trojan wars. Play through 10 chapters of Homer's famous epic.
This site offers 12 interactive games, quizzes, and puzzles on topics such as Greek gods, the Olympics, and the Parthenon.
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization is an amazing, interactive resource for the older child.
ANCIENT ROME
The Birmingham Museum has a "dress the Roman soldier" interactive activity, as well as some other great things to print out!
This site from BBC was made with kids in mind, with interactive quizzes and activities. Good ideas for teachers here, too.
Find games, puzzles, and other interactive activities on Rome made especially for the upper elementary school child.
Build ancient Rome, copying the architecture,
and become the Emporor with this computer puzzle game,
Cradle of Rome.
This site for kids explores the eruption of Vesuvius,gives Pliny's account, and shows pictures of Pompey and Herculaneum.
NOVA offers another super site...this one on the Roman baths.
Explore the Colosseum and the world of the gladiator. Be sure to click on the video tours at the bottom of the page!
Compare the Romans, knights, Vikings, and gladiators in the Warrior Challenge, and then choose your own challenge to participate interactively!
Be an investigator in Ancient Rome and solve this murder mystery!
Be a Gladiator in this game.
In this game, called Gladiator: Dressed to Kill, your choice of the armor and weapons for your gladiator determines how successful he is.
The Roman Empire in the First Century is an amazing site for the older child, complete with a game called "Emperor of Rome."
Tour an ancient Roman villa in Germany.
 In the computer game Romance of Rome, you will join a young explorer, Marcus, as he travels to Rome to track down stolen imperial relics. Travel everywhere from the Coliseum to the Forum!
ANCIENT ISRAEL
Watch a video to learn the historical background of Hannukah.
Explore the lost tomb of the biblical King Herod with this National Geographic computer game.
ANCIENT CHINA
Take an interactive tour of the Great Wall of China.
Explore NOVA's atempt to build an ancient Chinese bridge at this interactive site.
Play interactive games of Chinese tangrams.
The computer game Tradewinds Caravans allows you to travel the dangerous Silk Road. You will build a caravan, trade exotic goods, and engage in real-time battles.
ANCIENT JAPAN
Kids will have a new appreciation for origami when they get to make these paper airplanes using origami techniques!
Try a variety of interactive fun on themes from sumo to ukiyo-e at this Virtual Japanese Culture page.
INCAN & AZTEC EMPIRES
Most of us will never get the chance to hike to the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu, but this photo gallery lets us experience the sights! Or visit the ruins via a virtual tour.
VARIED CULTURES
Watch this YouTube movie about the raising of Stonehenge.
Take a quiz on ancient history and archeology. Each correct answer adds a piece to the jigsaw puzzle.
Explore Easter Island at this NOVA site.
GENERAL TOPICS
Compare the Romans, knights, Vikings, and gladiators in the Warrior Challenge, and then choose your own challenge to participate interactively!
Learn the story of St. George and the dragon by exploring artwork from the past.
BRITAIN
(see more activities under yearly headings below)
Watch a movie and play a game to learn more about Anglo-Saxon coins, compliments of BBC.
 Hidden Mysteries - Buckingham Palace is a computer game that lets you explore the palace while learning fun royal facts.
BYZANTINE EMPIRE
Take a 360° tour of the Hagia Sophia.
CASTLES AND CATHEDRALS
How much do you know about cathedral achitecture? Play this game and find out!
MEDIEVAL WARFARE & KNIGHTS
Explore the medieval arms race at this NOVA site.
Watch (via slideshow) a trebuchet as it is built. Then you can build your own, and interactively destroy a castle at this NOVA site!
This site is loaded with ideas for games, crafts, and group activities to create an entire event with a Knights theme. Start at the games page, and follow the links at the bottom of the page for more ideas!
Design your own coat of arms on your computer!
800-1000 VIKINGS
This Smithsonian Viking site is thorough, with plenty of video clips to watch, artifacts to see, and lots of audio.
Play Viking Quest and experience the challenge of "the full Viking experience."
Another great site, The Vikings, allows you to explore a village, longships, and runes, and includes a clickable map to see the breadth of their influence.
1066 WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
Re-enact the Battle of Hastings with this BBC game.
Create your own Bayeux Tapestry online, or print out worksheets to put the events in order or evaluate William the Conqueror based on the Tapestry. Also find instructions for a Norman ship and a Norman helmet!
Although not interactive, this site on The Bayeux Tapestry is worth a visit! Includes the entire tapestry, section by section, with an explanation of each part.
1346-1350 THE BLACK PLAGUE
Click on the interactive map to see how the Black Plague spread between 1347 and 1350.
I don't often list a purely informational site here, but this is unique (& does have good pictures). Most don't know that Eyam, England is called the plague village because it voluntarily isolated itself when the plague struck, brought by fleas imported in a tailor's shipment of cloth. This real story seems to mirror the book A Parcel of Patterns. (actual date is 1666)
RENAISSANCE
Allentown Art Museum has an interactive website packed with fun activities called The Renaissance Connection.
Great Secrets - Da Vinci is a computer game that allows you to explore the world of the famous artist! Travel through his diary, meet famous people, and see his artwork.
HENRY VIII & ELIZABETH
More informational than activity-based, this site on the Tudors & Henry VIII is entertaining and interactive.
Play the Elizabethan Syping Game and crack the code!
Explore the Mary Rose, a warship of Henry VIII's, that shipwrecked and was rediscovered in 1971.
SHAKESPEARE
Play games, do puzzles, and have fun learning on the Shakespeare for Kids website!
Take a virtual trip back in time to Shakespear's Globe Theatre!
Another activity would be to do a Reader's Theater, acting out a Shakespearean play. This site has some short adaptations for kids, as well as fun lists of Shakespearean insults, compliments, and more!
GREAT PLAGUE OF LONDON, 1665-1666
I don't often list a purely informational site here, but this is unique (& does have good pictures). Most don't know that Eyam, England is called the plague village because it voluntarily isolated itself when the plague struck, brought by fleas imported in a tailor's shipment of cloth. This real story seems to mirror the book A Parcel of Patterns.
VICTORIAN ERA
The Birmingham Museum let you explore a Victorian painting online, as well as some other great activities to print out!
See if you know your Victorian etiquette with this game!
This game explores the cultural changes for women in the Victorian age.
What about the Gunpowder Plot? Play this game and found out!
Can you make it as a factory owner in the Industrial Revolution? Another related game, Muck and Brass, puts you in charge of a city during this same time. You have to look out for your citizens, while still encouraging the positive impact of factories. Are you up for the challenge?
The Lost Cases of 221B Baker St. is a computer game set in Victorian England. Help Sherlock solve mysterious cases!
1800's
Follow the fashion and style of the 1800's with this interactive game.
Tour a Victorian House from 1870 England!
NAPOLEON
Play the Battle of Waterloo game, and choose your side to make your own strategy decisions.
Explore the world of Napoleon by touring his famous portait painted by Jean-Louis David.
WORLD WARS
The Birmingham Museum lets you explore a World War II bomb damage report online, as well as some other great activities to print out!
Watch a multimedia presentation and read survivors tales about Pearl Harbor at this National Geographic site.
During World War II, The Atlantic Ocean was a battlefield. Try to outwit the German U-Boats in this game from BBC.
Visit one of the escape tunnels created by Allied airmen imprisoned as Nazi POW's during World War II. Be amazed at the ingenuity & resourcefulness of these men!
Look at pictures, read its history, and tour the U-505 submarine, currently on exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
What was it like for a child during World War II in Europe? Find out from this interactive site from BBC.
Live your own WWII Experience with realistic graphics as you venture into enemy territory.
This game is for the older student! Use the Leadership Profile to find out Which Historical Military Leader You Are Most Like .
Explore the USS Pampanito, a submarine that America built and used during World War II.
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