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March Highlights
The Spirit of LEAP!
March is another busy month, packed with exciting ways to understand the world around us and explore new perspectives. With a focus on art, technology, and math, March truly reflects the spirit of LEAP! Starting with Teen Tech Week during the first week of March and the celebration of Pi Day on March 14th, March activities encourage us to think about all of the ways that science and math are part of our daily lives. March also happens to be Youth Art month. Imagination and creativity help us see the everyday in a new way, allowing us to solve problems by experimenting with new ideas and new skills.
The fusion of art and science is a perfect theme for this March’s biggest celebrations – Ramadan (February 28 - March 29) and Women’s History Month. Even when not acknowledged, women’s ideas and inventions have always been important to innovations in technology and computer science. For example, Ada Lovelace relied on algebra, which was developed by Muslim mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, and her knowledge of weaving to develop the world’s first computer program – even before computers were invented! Have fun honoring all of these innovations in math, technology, and art with unplugged coding activities all month long.
Additional March Resources
Additional March Resources
Youth Art Month - Council for Art Education
Ramadan - Values of Ramadan: Gratitude and Shared Experiences, Smithsonian Learning Lab
Pi Day (March 14) - Guide to Celebrating Pi Day, Exploratorium
Women's History Month
Women's History Month
Women’s History Week was established in 1980 to recognize the achievements of women in American history and to acknowledge the immeasurable contributions of women in shaping American society. The date was chosen to coincide with International Women’s Day which is held annually on March 8. The weeklong celebration was extended to the full month of March in 1987.
Women's History Month 2025 - Themed LEAP GuidesThe First Computer Programmers
Long before mechanical computers existed, scientists, engineers, and accountants all needed complex calculations done for them. They often broke up the work and assigned it to a team of people. So, the first “computers” were actually people! Often these teams of mathematicians were made up entirely of women.
In the 1940s, a team of 6 women were called on to help program the very first computer, ENIAC. ENIAC took up the size of a large room, and was built and stored at the University of Pennsylvania. At that time, computer programming and software development didn’t yet exist as careers. Programming ENIAC was considered a task for secretaries, all of whom were women. However, without the mathematical genius of Marilyn Meltzer, Ruth Teitelbaum, Kathleen Antonelli, Jean Bartik, Frances Holberton, and Frances Spence, none of ENIAC’s impressive calculations would have been possible. This team of women – the first computer programmers – also created to help steps computer programmers use today to debug code, such as creating a “break point,” which is a point in a new code sequence where programmers can stop a program that isn’t working correctly.
Women continued to play a key role in establishing the field of computer programming. In the 1950s, Grace Hopper began developing computer languages and “compilers.” Compilers are programs that can translate words, rather than symbols, into a computer code. Her work made computer programming accessible to more people and paved the way for creating several computer programming languages. A decade later, engineers built the first “personal” computer, LINC. Mary Allen Wilkes became the computer’s lead programmer and forever transformed the way biomedical research was conducted.
Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine - One Page Read Aloud Guide.pdfAda Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine
Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine
Asha and Baz Meet Hedy Lamarr - Easy Chapter Book Read Aloud GuideAsha and Baz meet Hedy Lamarr
Asha and Baz meet Hedy Lamarr
The Woman Who Wove the Future
The Woman Who Wove the Future
Before computers existed, weavers used dots and dashes, or marked Xs on grids to show others how to weave different cloth patterns. When weaving became mechanized, weavers. Weavers gave machines instructions by punching holes in cards. These punch
cards told the machine which threads should be seen, or ON, and which should not be seen, or OFF in order to make each pattern. Without realizing it, weavers created the first widespread use of binary code!
In 1833, Charles Babbage asked a young mathematician named Ada Lovelace to help him program a calculating device called the Analytical Engine. Much like mechanized weaving machines, the Analytical Engine could only read ON or OFF. Lovelace made an important connection between weavers’ punch cards and Babbage’s machine. She realized that if ON was given the value 1 and OFF was given the value of 1, she could use Boolean Algebra to translate any calculation into 0's and 1’s. She discovered she could turn any value into punch cards, and then feed it into the machine to compute. Ada Lovelace invented computer programming!
Patterns for weaving, knitting, crochet, and friendship bracelets all follow a grid system to show which color or stitch to use. But you are not a computer! As Ada Lovelace liked to point out, computers cannot think on their own. They only make what we tell them to. You, on the other hand, can design patterns – or codes – of your own! Practice following a grid pattern to make a bracelet and then make a pattern for others to follow!
Friendship Bracelets
Friendship Bracelets
Materials: embroidery thread, ruler, tape, scissors
Choose 3 or 4 colors of embroidery thread.
Cut 2 pieces of each color about 28 inches in length.
Knot all of the pieces together at the top.
Spread out the threads. Arrange them so that the colors mirror one another on each side.
Start with the thread on the outer left side. Use it to make a 4 shape that crosses over the thread to its right. Tie a knot. Repeat that step.
Keeping the thread you started with, continue to the next thread to the right. Make a 4 shape and then tie a knot. Repeat this step. Stop when this thread reaches the center.
Using the thread on the outer right, make a P shape that crosses over the thread to its left. Tie a knot. Do this step again.
Continue to the next thread to the left. Make a P shape, loop the end under and tie a knot. Repeat. Stop when this thread reaches the center.
Tie the two center threads together twice.
Continue until your bracelet is the length you want. Knot all the threads together.
Bonus - Design a pattern of your own, try it out, and then share your pattern with a friend!
Additional Women's History Month Resources
Additional Women's History Month Resources
American Women’s History Museum - Women in Technology
Library of Congress - Historical Women in STEM
March Book Club
March Book Club
Moon's Ramadan - One Page Read Aloud Guide.pdfMoon's Ramadan
Moon's Ramadan
Follow the moon during the month of Ramadan.
What If... - One Page Read Aloud Guide.pdfWhat If...
What If...
How can an artist create without a pencil?
How to Code a Sandcastle - One Page Read Aloud Guide.pdfHow to Code a Sandcastle
How to Code a Sandcastle
Can a robot learn how to build a sandcastle?
The Makers Club - Graphic Novel Read Aloud GuideThe Makers Club
The Makers Club
What do you do when you feel like your dreams are shattered?
Magnet Maze
Magnet Maze
Materials: cardstock or thin cardboard; 2 magnets; ruler; pencil; markers
Create a grid of 1 inch squares on one side of the cardstock.
Make a matching grid on the other side.
Number the squares starting from left to right.
Flip it over and number the squares starting from right to left. Each square’s number should be the same on both sides.
Starting at the bottom, write the letters of the alphabet going upwards.
Do the same thing on the other side. Every square now has a name. Its first name is the number along the bottom. Its last name is the letter of the row it's in. This square should have the same name on both sides.
Draw a maze on one side. Put the magnets on either side at the start of the maze.
Hold the paper up and stand on the grid-only side.
Ask a friend to stand on the side showing the maze. Can your friend help you move your magnet to the end of the maze by only using each square's special name?
Bonus - Draw and cut out a rocket, a car, or a butterfly and tape it to your magnet. Draw planets, buildings, or flowers on your grid. Tell a story while you map out your adventure!
String Prints
String Prints
Materials: pencil; paper; markers or crayons
What can you create with the materials you have?
Write a story or make a flowchart that shows what you can do if you have a pencil and paper.
Bonus - What other projects could you make? What other materials could you start with?
Emoji Book Titles
Emoji Book Titles
Materials: a list of common emojis; paper; pencil; markers
Write the title of your favorite books using only pictures or emojis.
Can your friends guess what books they are?
Bonus - Retell your favorite part of a book using only emojis. Can your friends figure out what happened in the story by reading your emoji code?
Dance Dance Revolution!
Dance Dance Revolution!
Materials: paper; markers; kid-friendly music; a safe place to move and make a little noise
Make movement cards using simple symbols like arrows, circles, or lightening bolts.
Decide what each symbol means. For example, an up arrow could mean step forward and a down arrow could mean step back.
Teach your group what each symbol means.
Turn on some music and switch up the cards. Let’s dance!
Bonus - Make up a dance and teach it to your group using the cards. Then switch roles, can you do their dance?
Additional LEAP Resources
Additional LEAP Resources
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