Black and white balls can be sorted into separate dispensers and then selected to form Ascii coded messages. 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles Babbage was the first person to develop the idea of building a computer but the technology was not yet developed to build the parts.

Computers are all around us and we use them in all aspects of life. We use computers in games, televisions, washing machines, MP3 players and in many more devices. Computers use a binary code for numbers and letters which is made up of 1s and 0s.

 

Use this activity to make codes. Can you make your name in code?

 

The basic process that is carried out by computers is to turn switches on or off. A binary code is a sequence of electrical pulses travelling along wires. A device called a clock sends pulses, and components switch on or off to pass or block the pulses.  Computers are made up of an input unit, processing unit, computer program, memory unit and output unit.

The development of the computer came about with the development of the semi-conductor. This allowed computers to become smaller and smaller. In the future and with new plastics that can semi conduct we will have televisions and computers that can be rolled up.

 

There are at this time no relevant links but this exhibit can provide extension to a child’s learning.