Treasure Hunt - Finite State Automata

The students’ goal in this resource is to find Treasure Island. Friendly pirate ships sail along a fixed set of routes between the islands in this part of the world, offering rides to travellers. Each island has two departing ships, A and B, which students can choose to travel on in order to find the best route to Treasure Island. Students use their map to keep track of where they are going and which ship they have travelled on. The resource begins with an introduction to the treasure hunt by way of a demonstration of the task. Photocopy masters for use with the demonstration and the activity are provided. This activity is followed up with the 'mysterious coin game'. To conclude there is more information about finite state automata followed by solutions and hints. This collection of twenty activities from Computer Science Unplugged is designed to aid the teaching and learning of computer science through engaging games and puzzles using cards, string, crayons and lots of running around.