What is Turing Tumble?

Turing Tumble is a Marble Powered Computer.

Turing Tumble builds incredible logic and thinking skills by embracing Computer Science, Math, and Engineering. These kits can be used as an independent study, within learning stations or a class activity.

The Turing Tumble challenges can be started in the Elementary Schools and taken all the way through High School. Because there are so many challenges, students don’t necessarily have to finish in their grade level. They can continue on the adventure in the next grade level or the next school they go to.

Turing Tumble will be adding new challenges and students, especially high school, can create their own. There are online simulations on the Tuning Tumble site that encourage students to create their own challenges or practice online.

Students get to actually see and feel how computers work. The goal is to see and touch the logic through critical thinking skills and collaboration. The goal is for students to continue those Turing Tumble challenges from one grade level to the next. The goal is for students to have fun while learning.

A Twitter post caught my eye. As I read about and researched Turing Tumble, I knew it was an activity that required high order thinking skills and logical reasoning. It was an activity that didn't need the Internet or electricity. It reminded me that sometimes students don't use their imagination enough and I wish I had this when I was in school. It reminded me that two students collaborating is so beneficial to learning.

Turing Tumble is a game and demonstration of logic gates via a mechanical computer.

Named after Alan Turing, an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. The game itself is advertised as Turing complete, and can (abstractly) duplicate the processes of any computer.

The puzzle or project book tells the adventure story of Alia, a computer engineer who is stranded on a forgotten planet. Her story gives a purpose to the Turing Tumble puzzles and helps kids understand these different components of the Turing Tumble computer board.

Each puzzle tells kids what they are trying to accomplish (the output they should get), which pieces to start with (and their positions on the board), and how many pieces to add. Then the students must decide where to add the additional pieces so that their computer program works!