The NCMF is beginning to engage middle school students via a variety of educational and innovative projects and initiatives.
Cybersecurity Gaming Kiosk Designed & Produced by Students
One very exciting project involves engaging a three-student intern team to develop, design, construct, and deliver an operational cybersecurity-themed gaming kiosk for the National Cryptologic Museum. The NCMF will team with Anne Arundel Community College to sponsor these students as they learn project management and leverage their cybersecurity, networking, digital forensics, and computer science knowledge. This project is possible thanks to a 2020 grant from the Arundel Community Development Services, Inc.
Cybersecurity Escape Room Will Go Mobile
Love Escape Rooms? This invaluable grant from Arundel Community Development Services, Inc. will also further the NCMF's partnership with NiSuS to upgrade our Cybersecurity Escape Room with a "flyaway kit." Didn't know we had a Cybersecurity Escape Room? In fact, 900 scouts at the 2019 Scout World Jamboree experienced this unique spin on an escape room.
The fly-away kit will enable the NCMF to go mobile with this fun, educational experience. Additional enhancements to the Escape Room include incorporating more Museum artifact examples. When complete, and once students return to the physical classroom, the NCMF will schedule visits to high schools, state and nationwide.
Making Cybersecurity Concepts Understandable for Middle Schoolers
Another exciting initiative involves providing excellent cybersecurity education resources for middle school students in language that helps to make cyber concepts more understandable. With our partner Start Engineering, and funded by the Gula Tech Foundation, we are creating a middle school booklet on cybersecurity principles and professions. This booklet will begin to evolve the language of cybersecurity to embrace the broader easier language of Data Care developed by Gula Tech.
Data Care recasts hard to understand cybersecurity terms into understandable concepts of caring for data, much like the health care industry transformed the medical profession. It broadens the workforce discussion and helps students see themselves within the Data Care industry.
#CyberChats Bring the Cyber Experts to Virtual Classrooms
Of course, we continue to offer our #CyberChats via the virtual classroom provided by Nepris. These Chats enable us to reach students in classrooms across the country. Our goal is to inspire them with quality information from the best cyber experts. Our guest presenters have included pioneers such as Dr. Whitfield Diffie and the NSA Queens of Code, as well as current industry innovators. If you are a cyber professional or expert and would like to present a #CyberChat - we invite you to please sign up today.
Learn more about our Education Program partnerships, and if you are interested in getting involved, please contact Mark Loepker, NCMF Director of Education, mloepker@cryptologicfoundation.org.
We also invite you to support the NCMF Education Program with a donation.
