Scytale, Scytalae

I have a running blog post with all of my notes from our current Science Club topic, Spy Science, but some special activities also get posts all their own! I did this with Periscopes & Prisms. Now it's time for Scytale, Scytalae.

singular "scytale"
/ˈskɪtəliː/
skittle-ee

plural "scytalae"
/ˈskɪtəleɪ/
skittle-ay


background:

Wikipedia article

The Ancient Greek Scytale

DIY Scytale Cipher video




teaching notes:

have a variety of cylinders available!

a long wide tube is best (such as a 2 1/2 to 3 inch mailing tube); broom handles also work well; knitting needles do NOT

you will also need wide ribbon (approx. 1 inch) and an ultra fine point Sharpie (so your writing doesn't smudge)

use ribbon that is neither slippery (satin), nor plush (velvet), nor textured (grosgrain)

demonstrate how to wrap, write, unwrap, rewrap, and read a message (and how it absolutely doesn't work if you use a tube with a different diameter)

pair children up and have them send and receive messages

have them decide if the person receiving the message would like to know which diameter cylinder was used... or not! some children like to know which tube to use and some prefer to hunt about and test

begin to wrap the ribbon around the tube -- and make sure you are happy with the spiral -- before taping down the start of it

before unwrapping the ribbon to give to your partner, underline the 1st letter (helps with orientation when decoding)

this cipher is tricky and would be hard do to with a large group! we had 8 children and that worked well

one letter on each turn of the ribbon, leaving spaces between words

when you unwrap the ribbon, it just looks like a mad jumble of letters!

yikes!
you have to rewrap it carefully -- and on the same tube -- to read it

success!