IN THE NAME OF
Love(lace)
by Emily Letras, Upper School Technology Teacher In many countries, October 15 is marked by a celebration of Ada Lovelace, a brilliant 18th century mathematician and, ironically, the daughter of Lord Byron. Lovelace worked closely with Charles Babbage (another pioneer in computing), and she is widely considered to be the author of the world's first computer program. Here at Bryn Mawr we enjoy a good celebration, so we decided to celebrate Lovelace and other pioneering women in science, technology, engineering and math (the STEM fields) during “Ada Week.” The week kicked off with an interactive convocation on October 14, where the Upper School received a visit from Ada Lovelace herself (played by Lindsay Hexter '14). The audience helped to write a computer program using a tool we teach in the ninth grade Emerging Technology classes to teach Ada how to dance the Cupid Shuffle. Another highlight of the festivities was the week-long Green vs. Gold team scavenger hunt, in partnership with the Athletic Association. Each day, students received a clue that led them to information about an important woman in the computer science field. Students who followed the clues and reported their findings earned points for their team. Ada Week also included a school-wide advisory competition, which had students cracking cryptograms and researching women in STEM fields. During club periods on Wednesday and Thursday, students were invited to the computer labs to sew circuits with conductive thread and to experiment with MaKey MaKey (pictured below, at right), a tool that allows students to program anything conductive—like Play Doh, bananas, hands and more—into a "key" on the computer. Finally, on Thursday evening a group of students gathered to participate in a Hackathon (pictured below, at left). Their goal was to build their own 3D printer using a kit that was won by one of our 3D printing and design teams last spring. Hackathon participants were able to follow online guides and work through challenges to assemble more than half of the printer in just one evening. We're hoping to complete the project soon, and then use the printer for some of our 3D designs. All in all, the week was a spectacular celebration of women in computer science and STEM. We know that Ada would be proud!
October 2013 / Mawrginalia / 29