Each Unplugged activity is available to download in PDF format, with full instructions and worksheets. Background sections explain the significance of each activity to computer science, and answers are provided for all problems. All you need for most of these activities are curiosity and enthusiasm. There are photos and videos showing some of the activities in action, and we’ve collected links to other useful resources.
The activities are primarily aimed at the five to twelve year-old age group, but they are by no means restricted to this age range: we’ve used them to teach older children and adults too, with little modification.
The Activities
Data: Representing Information
- Binary Numbers
- Image Representation
- Text Compression
- Error Detection
- Information Theory
- Sound Representation
- Databases
Algorithms: Putting Computers to Work
- Searching Algorithms
- Sorting Algorithms
- Sorting Networks
- Minimal Spanning Trees
- Routing and Deadlock
- Network Protocols
- Phylogenetics
- Divide and Conquer
- Line Drawing
Procedures: Telling Computers What to Do
- Finite State Automata
- Programming Languages
- Class Simulation of a Computer
- Programming Languages – Harold the Robot
Intractability: Really Hard Problems
Cryptography: Sharing Secrets
The Human Face of Computing: Interacting with Computers
Community Activities
- Phylogenetics
- Class Simulation of a Computer
- Harold the Robot
- Modems Unplugged
- Divide and Conquer (Santa’s Dirty Socks)
- Databases
- Line Drawing
- Scout Patrol (Encryption)
