This activity is part of our set of Data-themed Escape Rooms. For background info on the DATA Agency and the VIKINGS villains, read our Top Secret Brief.
Briefing for Agents: The VIKINGS have used their experimental time travel textual transmission technology (or 5T for short) to send information back in time to help them raise the money they need to build their secret lair. A DATA operative has snuck into each VIKINGS’ base to find clues about what they’re up to. Can you figure out what information each of the four VIKINGS villains have sent back to themselves?
Description of learners’ task: Learners will use different graphs and tables of data to solve a set of four puzzles. Along the way they will learn about cybersecurity topics such as password safety and phishing attacks.
Timing: The four puzzles in this set can be done all together or over separate sessions, in any order. Each puzzle should take 20-40 minutes.
Materials for all puzzles:
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- Slides introducing all four puzzles
- Instructions handout for all four puzzles
- Worksheet for filling in all answers
- Answer key
- Educator’s guide to further resources
Materials for individual puzzles:
- Not so noble Nobel Prize:
- Going viral to get rich:
- Phishing for Money:
- Billionaire data (to be cut into strips along dashed lines)
- Bitcoin treasure hunt:
- Press article
- Council landfill records
- Landfill map
- Extra mission: when to sell the loot?
Extension activity:
What information would you send back to yourself in the past to do good, not evil? You can only send 144 characters.
If you require a resource in an alternative format, such as large print or a coloured background, please contact dataschools@ed.ac.uk detailing which resource(s) you require.