March Mammal Madness is a variation of the NCAA basketball tournament. March Mammal Madness features a battle between animals. Housed at Arizona State University, the science-based contest serves as a teaching tool in the K-12 and college classrooms. The battle descriptions are playful yet rooted in scientific literature.

In Woodhaven High School, 150 people participated in the March Mammal Madness, including the students, staff members, and teachers. The official March Mammal Madness is organized and run by Dr. Katie Hinde, a biologist at Arizona State University, but at WHS, science teacher Amanda Pratt runs the games. “I have done March Mammal Madness each year since I heard about it and people love it,” said Mrs. Pratt.

The animals are selected by the March Mammal Madness team. It is an extremely fun competition that simulates hypothetical battles between mammals. The March Mammal Madness committee selects 64 mammal species and assigns them four brackets. The players have to focus on matching up the species’ natural history and characteristics.

WHS students and staff loved learning about the different mammal species and their behaviors while doing the activity. The winners were determined after taking the information about each mammal’s weaponry, armor, fight style, temperament, and motivation, and then using the random number generator to determine the outcome. Overall this year Woodhaven extremely enjoyed the competition and everyone was very excited to find out the winners. This activity increases students’ knowledge about mammals and their behaviors.