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Public Key Encryption: Kid Krypto
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In this activity, learners conduct a simulation exercise related to public key encryption and try to intercept a message sent between two learners.
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.
Space Weather Action Center
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In this interdisciplinary activity, learners create a Space Weather Action Center (SWAC) to monitor solar storms and develop real SWAC news reports.
The Poor Cartographer: Graph Coloring
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In this activity, learners help a poor cartographer color in the countries on a map, making sure each country is colored a different color than any of its neighbors.
Pico Cricket Compass
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Learners can program a compass to draw a circle by itself using a Pico Cricket, some Legos, and lots of tape! Pico Cricket is required.
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
Programming Languages: Marching Orders
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In this activity about computer programming, learners follow instructions in a variety of ways in order to successfully draw figures.
LEGO Orrery
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Use this model to demonstrate the goal of NASA's Kepler Mission: to find extrasolar planets through the transit method.
Colour by Numbers: Image Representation
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This activity shows learners how computers use numbers to represent pictures. A grid is used to represent the pixels (short for picture elements) of a computer screen.
Treasure Hunt: Finite-State Automata
In this computer science activity about finite-state automaton (on page 45 of the PDF), learners use a map and choose various pathways to find Treasure Island.
Solving Playground Network Problems
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In this activity, learners use cooperation and logical thinking to find solutions to network problems on the playground.
Passion for Pixels
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In this technology activity, learners explore digital imaging and pixels. Learners "transmit" an image to a partner by creating an image on grid paper.
Coral Snapshots: Biodiversity in Marine Protected Areas
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In this data activity, learners analyze data from coral reef snapshots taken by scientists at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
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.
Locating a Point
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In this activity, learners work in teams to simulate the process used by Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to determine the location of a fallen meteorite in Antarctica.
EEEEK--A Mouse!
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In this activity, learners explore the concept of how engineering solved the problem of human/computer interface.
Binary Code Bracelets
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In this activity, learners make their own binary code bracelets by translating their initials into 0s and 1s represented by beads of 2 different colors.
Card Flip Magic: Error Detection & Correction
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This magic trick is based on how computers detect and correct data errors.