ACTIVITIES FOR INFORMAL EDUCATORS
EPiQC is creating activities to introduce children and their families to quantum computing topics. These activities are designed to be used by for informal educators in a broad range of contexts. Each activity guide comes with a step-by-step facilitator’s guide and a zine and take-home sheet that you can distribute to participants, so they can continue learning! Click here to register for updates.
REVERSIBILITY
These activities introduce participants to the concept of reversibility, which is a key theme in quantum computing.
EXPLORING WHAT MAKES SOMETHING REVERSIBLE
How quickly can you reverse your path?
Superposition
Classical computers use bits to store information - as either a 0 or 1. This activity explores the idea that quantum bits (or qubits) are able to exist in a state of superposition, such that they are both 0 and 1. A short version that is appropriate for all ages omits the exploration of how the chance of measuring a specific state can be manipulated.
Explore how something can be two things at once
Explore how something can be two things at once (SHORT VERSION)
Classical Error detection & correction
This activity explores how classical computers detect and correct errors. Quantum computers also need to be able to detect and correct errors, but use different methods.
Exploring how computers find and fix errors
MEASUREMENT perturbs state
This activity explores how measurement can change something. The state of quantum bits, qubits, changes when they are measured.
EXPLORE HOW MEASURING SOMETHING CAN CHANGE IT (JELLY BEANS)
EXPLORE HOW MEASURING SOMETHING CAN CHANGE IT (BALLOONS)
EXPLORE HOW MEASURING SOMETHING CAN CHANGE IT (water temperature)
Exponential Growth
This activity explores how exponential growth occurs and its important role in quantum computing.
EXPLORE HOW quickly numbers can grow
plinko Probability
This activity explores how probability distributions can be manipulated to favor some outcomes over others.
EXPLORE HOW to manipulate probability distributions
SUPERPOSITION & MEASUREMENT WITH THAUMATROPES
This activity introduces students to quantum superposition and measurement as they design and build thaumatropes.
Spooky superposition: exploring superposition & measurement with thaumatropes (HALLOWEEN THEME; grades 4-5)
Art in SUPERPOSITION: EXPLORING SUPERPOSITION & MEASUREMENT WITH THAUMATROPES (grades 4-5)
SCRATCH THAUMATROPES: EXPLORING SUPERPOSITION, MEASUREMENT, AND PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS (grades 6-8)
Many qubit technologies / Same Basic Functions
Quantum computing is still so new that researchers are still exploring many different quantum bit (qubit) technologies to represent information. While each qubit has strengths and weaknesses, they must all be able to perform the same basic functions. This activity explores how different modes of communication that can be used to transmit the same message.
Communicating with Morse Code (grades 4-5)
Exploring quantum superposition of qubits
In this activity, students use standard playing cards to model quantum superposition and the relative probabilities of each possible outcome.
Superposition with Cards (grades 6-8)
COMMUNICATION WITHOUT SPEAKING
In this activity, students learn about alternative modes of communicating information. The teacher and an assistant perform a card trick and a connection is made to cryptography - using both classical and quantum computers!
Communication without speaking (grades 4-8)
Exploring quantum Algorithms
In this activity, students explore quantum algorithms and quantum parallelism through a quantum adaptation of the board game “Guess Who?”
QUANTUM GUESS WHO? (grades 8-12)
development TEAM
Diana Franklin
Liz Lehman
Jen Palmer
Randall H. Landsberg
Danielle Harlow
Devon Christman
Jasmine Marckwordt
Ali Muller
The EPiQC Activities for Informal Educators are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
