Last week, the IT Division hosted Le Conte Berkeley Elementary School’s 2nd grade students for the second year of its educational outreach program. With the goal of introducing young students to the fundamentals of technology, the IT staff developed a curriculum that educated the students on how computers and networks support the science at Berkeley Lab.
Using hands-on activities, Le Conte students learned about the key components of a computer through analogies that were easily understandable. For instance, the CPU embodies the brain, networking corresponds to the delivery of mail, and programming can correspond to developing a sequence of commands to make a program draw a box.
The event was a fun-filled success, enjoyed by both students, teachers of Le Conte Elementary School, and even the parent chaperones - one of whom pronounced this as the best field trip so far this year. IT instructors and volunteers included Tammy Campbell, Nat Stoddard, Gary Jung and Nina Lucido.
