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Create and break ciphers, then investigate an encryption system in this three-week cryptography course for middle school students on Bryn Mawr College’s campus.
Course Description
Hide a message in plain sight, then look for the pattern that gives it away. A clever cipher is an invitation to a determined codebreaker.
In this course your student will build cipher wheels and exchange encrypted messages with a partner. They’ll try different cipher systems to disguise a message. Counting how often letters appear can reveal a weakness. Modular arithmetic uses remainders to reveal patterns. Matrices, prime factorization, number theory, and how computers represent information add more ways to investigate the puzzles.
Historical cases, the historic Enigma code machine, and modern public-key ideas show how codebreaking affected events and why security changes as technology advances. Students then choose their own challenge: design an original cryptographic system or investigate how to break one. They’ll document the key, method, mathematical reasoning, and test results. Presenting the work means explaining what holds up, what fails, and why.
This three-week course for middle school students is part of Summer Discovery’s Institute for the Gifted program on Bryn Mawr College’s campus in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The program is available to commuter students.
What You Will Do
• Build cipher wheels and exchange secret messages
• Encrypt and decode Caesar and substitution ciphers
• Break simple ciphers using letter-frequency patterns
• Test different cipher systems and look for weaknesses
• Investigate the Enigma code machine, public-key encryption, and historical codebreaking
• Present your own cipher or codebreaking investigation
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Explain how classical and modern encryption ideas protect information
• Use mathematical patterns and letter frequencies to encode or break messages
• Evaluate a cipher’s strengths and weaknesses using test evidence
You’ll leave with your encrypted work, documented codebreaking strategies, a cipher or cryptanalysis project and a certificate of completion.
Why Cryptography Skills Matter
A cipher needs rules precise enough for someone else to follow. Building one makes mathematical patterns useful; trying to break it shows why a convincing idea still needs testing. Letter frequencies, repeating alphabets, and prime numbers each offer a different way to reason about a message.
That combination of precision and skepticism helps students look more closely at how information is protected. They practice documenting a method so another person can check it and revising an explanation when a pattern does not fit.
Who Should Attend?
For students who have completed 6th, 7th, or 8th grade.
Secret messages give puzzle-lovers a reason to dig into mathematics, history, and computers. This course suits students who keep looking for a pattern and want to know why a solution works. Your student will calculate carefully, tackle codebreaking challenges with classmates, and improve a design after others test it.
Institute for the Gifted eligibility requirements apply; see the program FAQ.
Your Summer at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr gives middle-school students a welcoming place to explore challenging ideas, create, and meet peers who share their interests. Its historic, tree-lined setting near Philadelphia makes the day feel distinctly advanced while allowing students to return home each afternoon.
The commuter-day format combines active academics with a clear daily routine and shared activities throughout the program day. Students can test new interests, contribute to discussions and projects, and become more confident navigating a college setting without an overnight stay. For families, Bryn Mawr offers a thoughtful balance of substantive learning, friendship, guidance, and age-appropriate independence in a structured day-program environment.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive