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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.

Guess My Number
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In this game, learners experience how computers divide a big problem into many smaller ones and how they use binary "yes"/"no" questions.

Twenty Guesses: Information Theory
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This activity introduces the idea that computer scientists measure information by how "surprising" a message is.

Programming Languages: Harold the Robot
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In this activity related to computer programming, learners give directions to a "robot" (either an adult or another learner) and find out which instructions the robot is able to follow, and how their

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

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.

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.

Card Flip Magic: Error Detection & Correction
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This magic trick is based on how computers detect and correct data errors.

Binary Challenge
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In this activity, learners cut out 5 paper cards and label them with 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 dot(s) to explore binary digits.

Find My Card
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In this activity, learners find the answer to the question, "if you have a pile of 8 cards, and you remove half, then half again, how many times can you do this until you get to just one card?" This w

The Muddy City: Minimal Spanning Trees
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In this puzzle, learners investigate the decisions involved in linking a network between houses in a muddy city.

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.

The Turing Test: Conversations with Computers
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This activity aims to stimulate discussion on the question of whether computers can exhibit “intelligence,” or are ever likely to do so in the future.

Cryptographic Protocols: The Peruvian Coin Flip
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This activity about cryptographic techniques illustrates how to accomplish a simple, but nevertheless seemingly impossible task—making a fair, random choice by flipping a coin between two people who d

Unlocking the Secret in Product Codes
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In this activity, learners will explore how product barcodes are scanned accurately and be able to "guess" the last number in a 13 digit barcode correctly every time.

Squeezing Pictures Into Codes
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In this activity, learners will explore how computers represent pictures using pixels.

Artificial Intelligence: The Intelligent Piece of Paper
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This activity explores what it means for a computer to be intelligent and introduces the topic of what a computer program is and how everything computers do simply involves following instructions writ

Ice Roads: Steiner Trees
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In this outdoor activity, learners use pegs (like tent pegs) and string or elastic to simulate drill sites and roads in Northern Canada.