Cryptology for Kids
Introduction:
A code is a system of symbols, letters, words, or signals that are used instead
of ordinary words and numbers to send messages or store information. A code is
used to keep the message short or to keep it secret.
Codes and ciphers
are forms of secret communication. A code replaces words, phrases, or sentences
with groups of letters or numbers, while a cipher rearranges letters or uses
substitutes to disguise the message. This process is called encryption or enciphering.
The science that studies such secret communication is called
cryptology.
How is cryptology used?
Secret writing has
been employed about as long as writing has existed. Codes have been used
throughout history whenever people wanted to keep messages private. Cryptology has long been employed
by governments, military, businesses, and organizations to protect their
messages. Today, encryption is used to protect storage of data and transactions
between computers. Visit
this site to learn more: http://www.thunk.com/learn.html
In ancient times
when messages were carried by foot for miles, kings and rulers would encrypt
the letters they would send to allies.
This helped to protect the secrecy of the message in case they were
stolen. In early American history,
even George Washington sent coded messages to his fellow soldiers. Likewise, the members of the Continental
Congress also encoded their documents. When the telegraph was invented, the “Morse Code” was used to
send understandable messages via sound patterns.
Today, computer
users encrypt documents, network space, and e-mail messages as a way to protect
the confidentiality of their messages.
The new types of encryption are very advanced, and sometimes complicated….but,
the basic skill remains true to the ancient methods!
Below you will
find a collection of links on cryptology use through history.
·
Morse Code:
o
Visit this
website to translate (and listen to!) your own message in Morse Code: http://www.soton.ac.uk/~scp93ch/morse/
·
Navajo Code
Talkers in WWII:
o
Visit this site to read more about these
important Americans and their role in our victory during WWII: http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq61-2.htm
·
ENIGMA in WWII:
o
Learn more
about the code machine, ENIGMA, cracked by the Allies in WWII http://www.odci.gov/cia/information/artifacts/enigma.htm
·
Secret Code Breakers Through History:
o
This site http://codebreaker.dids.com/fhistory.htm
contains many stories about the role of encryption in history.
Calling all cryptologists!
Your mission (should you choose to
accept it) is to encrypt the message the following message using at least 3
different secret codes. Write your
responses on a separate piece of paper.
Message to Encrypt:
The red
balloon will launch at noon tomorrow.
Alert all parties!
Helpful
Resources:
The following links will provide you with an assortment of sample encryption techniques. Be sure to explore them all!
o
http://www.scouting.org.za/codes/sliding.html
o
http://www.scouting.org.za/codes/pigpen.html
o
http://www.funology.com/braindrains/bd001.cfm
o
http://www.happychild.org.uk/ifs/00001pla.htm
o
http://www.happychild.org.uk/ifs/00003mrs.htm
FUN Cryptology Projects for
YOU to Try:
National
Security Agency’s Code Challenge:
Visit this site http://www.nsa.gov/programs/kids/standard/lab/elementary/index.shtml
to begin your journey as a secret agent for the federal government. Click on the “Start Puzzle” button to
begin.
Mirror
Writing:
If you hold up to a mirror something
with writing, the writing looks reversed. You can easily write notes and other
things to look like mirror writing. Get a sheet of thin white or light colored
paper. With a dark marker, write something on one side. Make sure you write it
thick and dark enough so that it will show through on to the other side. Flip
over the paper and trace what you wrote. You'll be tracing it backwards. It
should come out like how you would see your regular writing if you were to hold
it up to a mirror. For fun, write down different words, or write a note to
someone, then reverse it and send it to them.
Invisible
Ink:
If you write with white crayon on a
white piece of paper, it looks like there's nothing there. But if you then
paint over it, your invisible writing will magically appear. Write words,
phrases or even a note to someone, and then impress them by making it magically
appear!
Cryptograph
Wheel:
You can make a special Cryptograph
Wheel to solve cryptographs (see the picture!) First make two circles of cardboard,
one a bit smaller than the other, and use a protractor to mark them off into 26
pieces of about 13.8 degrees each. Write one letter of the alphabet in each
division on each wheel. Then attach the two wheels together using a split pin
so that you can rotate them independently. Visit this site again to
see an example: http://www.scouting.org.za/codes/sliding.html
American
Sign Language:
Use this site to learn more about
signing the alphabet. http://www.mikesart.net/clorisacom/signlanguage/?inputstring=hello
You can learn how to spell
words. Enter a word into the box and press "translate" to see
how it looks in the sign language. Each finger represents a letter.
Pin Marks:
Using a newspaper or a sheet of
paper. Use a pin to make tiny
holes under specific letters to spell out a secret message. To decipher the message, hold the paper
up to a light (or window) and write down the marked letters.