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Battleships: Searching Algorithms
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This activity explores the main algorithms that are used as the basis for searching on computers, using different variations on the game of battleships.
Twenty Guesses: Information Theory
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This activity introduces the idea that computer scientists measure information by how "surprising" a message is.
Secret Codon
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In this activity, "write" a secret message in genetic code as beads on a string.
Parabola Basketball
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In this activity, learners build mini-basketball courts and explore the laws of physics. Learners discover that everything you throw or shoot on earth travels in a parabola.
Pi Graph
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In this activity, learners use a straight line to learn about circles. Learners measure and record the diameter and circumference of different sized cylindrical objects on a chart.
Divide and Conquer: Santa's Dirty Socks
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This activity introduces the idea of "divide and conquer" using a fictitious but serious problem--a pair of dirty socks has accidentally been wrapped in one of the presents that Santa is about to deli
Solidly Platonic
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In this activity, learners follow simple directions to explore and create platonic solids.
You Can Say That Again!: Text Compression
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This activity helps students learn how computers "compress" text by identifying repeating patterns of letters, words, and phrases.
Sound Representation: Modems Unplugged
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In this activity, learners listen to songs and decode hidden messages based on the same principle as a modem. As a final challenge, learners decode the binary messages in a music video.
Coma Cluster of Galaxies
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In this activity, learners will first learn the basics of galaxy classification and grouping.
Card Flip Magic: Error Detection & Correction
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This magic trick is based on how computers detect and correct data errors.
Four-Sock Drawers
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These puzzles use four colors of socks in a drawer to get learners thinking algebraically.
The Daily Ups and Downs
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In this activity, learners graph 48 hourly air temperatures from a local weather observation site and observe the diurnal temperature variations.
Skateboard Disaster
Learners examine collisions between two skateboards carrying different masses. They learn about conservation of momentum in collisions.
Number Patterns
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In this lesson, learners are challenged to discover the relationship among six numbers.
Finding the Size of the Sun and Moon
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In this activity, learners build a simple pinhole viewer. They use this apparatus to project images from a variety of light sources, including a candle, the Sun, and the Moon.
Cardio Comparisons
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In this activity, learners discover how their heart rate changes in different situations.
Double or More
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Choose a recipe to double (or triple, quadruple, or halve). Show everyone the recipe and engage them in figuring out: How much will we need to increase the recipe to feed everyone?
Making a Translation Tessellation
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In this activity, learners slide shapes to create unusual tiled patterns.
Phylogenetics
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This activity lets learners participate in the process of reconstructing a phylogenetic tree and introduces them to several core bioinformatics concepts, particularly in relation to evolution.