Year Nine Computer Science pupils recently participated in an exciting and immersive trip to the Centre for Computing History in Cambridge, a museum where computing is brought to life through hands-on learning and interactive exhibits.
The day began with a CPU roleplay workshop, where pupils took on roles such as the control unit, registers, ALU and memory. By physically acting out the fetch-decode-execute cycle, they gained a real-world understanding of how a CPU works, turning theory into something tangible and fun.
Their experience came to life even more when they saw their “CPU” instruction cycle brought to scale on the MegaProcessor, a room-sized, fully operational processor made from thousands of LEDs and wires.
In the afternoon, pupils rolled up their sleeves for a Python coding challenge using Raspberry Pi computers to control robotic buggies. They used code to direct the buggies around obstacles, developing their problem-solving skills and learning how software can control hardware in real time.
Pupils explored the museum’s interactive timeline of computing, tracing the evolution of technology from early mechanical machines to today’s smart devices. The exhibit helped them appreciate the rapid pace of innovation and the groundbreaking milestones that shaped the digital age.
Of course, no visit would be complete without a trip to the Game Zone! Pupils were thrilled to get hands-on with classic consoles and video games from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
One pupil said, “I loved acting out the different parts of the computer,” and many commented that they wished they could have stayed longer!
It was a day of learning, creativity and digital discovery. We are proud of how engaged and enthusiastic our Year Nine pupils were throughout. A huge thank you to the Centre for Computing History for such an informative experience.
Michelle Parton, Lead Computing Teacher & Digital Learning Co‑ordinator