{"id":199,"date":"2022-02-18T13:22:51","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T13:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/?p=199"},"modified":"2023-02-20T13:01:08","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T13:01:08","slug":"how-to-become-penpals-with-an-alien-using-the-pigpen-cipher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/how-to-become-penpals-with-an-alien-using-the-pigpen-cipher\/","title":{"rendered":"Become Penpals with an Alien (Pigpen Cipher Activity)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Graphic<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I’ve been trying to find new and engaging activities for my two little boys. Lately I\u2019ve been doing a huge deep dive into all things secret code\/cipher related. Activities that get their imagination going, suspend reality for a bit, and are engaging for both them and me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been racking my brain on how to best incorporate some of my new cipher and secret code findings. Right now I\u2019m sitting in my comfy living room chair watching my two boys write pen pal letters to their grandparents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s something exciting and special about how they can put a little sticker on the top of an envelope and it magically travels to another part of the country. What makes them even more excited is that in about a week, they\u2019re going to get a letter back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then my oldest gives me some great inspiration. He loves using the pigpen cipher from the moment I showed him how it works. And then he tells me what he loves about the pigpen cipher is that it looks like an alien language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cue light bulb, I just found my idea. What if they were to get a letter from space? What if it was all written in this weird-looking language (that would take some time for them to encode and decode)? I think I\u2019m onto something.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But first, I need to come up with an alien messaging system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to learn more about the Pigpen Cipher, check out The Pigpen Cipher (What it Is and How to Teach Your Kids)<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Build and Alien Messaging System<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So here\u2019s the premise. I took a PVC tube with a cap on one end and a threaded plug on the other (I\u2019ll show you exactly how I did it in a bit). The whole thing will be painted in a space ship gray. Then I paint each of my kids\u2019 names on it using the pigpen cipher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Finished
Finished Alien Messaging System<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As long as my kids have been introduced to the cipher they should have no problem identifying the text and solving the cipher quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After typing up my message I\u2019ll put it into the tube. Sometime after the kids go to bed the messaging tube will \u201ccrash land\u201d in the middle of the backyard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the kiddos decode and read the message, they can then write back by leaving a message in the tube and putting it back in the crash-landing site. There it will be \u201cbeamed back to the ship,\u201d thus beginning our ongoing alien correspondence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s move on to the details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Materials<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Remember that this is not exact science here. We\u2019re essentially creating a prop. Feel free to follow what I did exactly (I\u2019ve included links to Lowe\u2019s and Home Depot) or deviate completely and use whatever you have lying around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n