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The first teaching session involved explaining how codes (technically ciphers) were developed to keep messages secret. The simple shift cipher was explained and how a cipher wheel can be used to hide and then reveal the message. Pairs of pupils in the class then sent secret messages to each other. The next step of the first session was to introduce the enigma machine used by the Germans in World War II to generate ciphers that were very difficult to crack and how the team at Bletchley Park broke these ciphers. The invention of the first computer, Colossus, at Bletchley was described. Each pupil took home a cipher wheel for their own use.
Next there was a day trip to visit Bletchley Park. Bletchley kindly arranged an excellent tour for the school. The ideas of codes and ciphers were explained to the class. We were shown round the site and saw the different huts that the people worked in. The highlights of the tour were seeing an actual enigma machine and a rebuilt version of the first computer, Colossus. In addition, we sat in a reconstruction of a cinema from the late '30 and early '40s and we saw films from that period.
The final teaching session explained the concept of biology encoding information determining how an organism looks and works. The concept of atoms was introduced by asking the class to pull apart a model made from Lego building blocks until they could no longer make any smaller unit. Then, using Lego blocks of different shapes, the concept of specifying a message by shape complementarily between two docked components was explained. The final part of the lesson focussed on the use of molecular graphics to look at atoms in biological molecules and how understanding shape can help in the systematic design of drugs. The graphics program PyMol was installed and the class experimented with moving molecules and changing their visual representation.
The session ended by giving each pupil their own set of atoms to work with at home: a pack of Smarties! Each pupil was also given a certificate.
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