Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!decwrl!apple!usc!samsung!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!hubcap!jdb
From: jdb@neptune.anu.OZ.AU (John Barlow)
Newsgroups: comp.parallel
Subject: wanted: educational material, parallel computing, for children
Message-ID: <9989@hubcap.clemson.edu>
Date: 3 Aug 90 12:06:05 GMT
Sender: fpst@hubcap.clemson.edu
Organization: Automated Reasoning Project
Lines: 23
Approved: parallel@hubcap.clemson.edu

Hello everybody.  I am looking for material to show parallel computing
to kids (mostly aged around 8 to 15 years old).  This isn't exactly easy,
any advice most welcome.  The idea is to have (hopefully) interactive
displays that show kids that many processors in parallel can achieve
amazing things (I was thinking of many small hydralic pumps lifting a
big block, if enough kids pump then the block lifts).

Static displays don't capture kids attention as much, but for the adults
that will occasionally look at it, (and PR), I would like to put up some
static displays - any ideas ?

Access to several parallel machines is easily arranged (CM2, Sequent symmetry,
Ardent Titan, DAP 510, BBN butterfly II, Encore multimax, etc)

Graphics is another area that will capture kids attention (not that it teaches
them much about parallel computing, perhaps I could compare it with a PC doing
some graphics :-),  Mandelbrot (and particularly fractals) is of
interest - anybody got any fractal programs for a CM2, using the framebuffer ?

jdb = John Barlow, Parallel Computing Research Facility,
Australian National University, I-Block, PO Box 4, Canberra, 2601, Australia.
email = jdb@arp.anu.oz.au  {?? soon to be jdb@arp.anu.edu.au ??}
[International = +61 6, Australia = 06] [Phone = 2492930, Fax = 2490747]