Kids learn computer theory with wood, cardboard, and hot glue

Behold the cardboard ENIAC

Students at an Arizona school have built a full-scale replica of ENIAC, marking 80 years since the dedication of the computer at the University of Pennsylvania.

The ENIAC replica

ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first general-purpose, programmable electronic computer. Conceived during the Second World War, construction began in 1944 and finished in 1945. Weighing 30 short tons (about 27 metric tons), it was formally accepted by the US Army Ordnance Corps - which had financed it - in 1946.

While other computing devices existed, including Britain's Colossus, ENIAC's general-purpose design set it apart from specialized machines like code-breakers.

The original is long gone, dismantled as obsolete and its components distributed to museums and universities. However, students at PS Academy Arizona have put together a 500-square-foot replica consisting of 45 individual units using original archival documents and historical references. The recreation is of ENIAC as it was first commissioned, marking the machine's 80th anniversary.

Technology instructor Tom Burick calls it "a full-scale, historically accurate structural replica," though it is not functional. Assembling the almost 18,000 vacuum tubes needed by the real thing would be impractical.

"All electronic components are visually simulated, not electrically active," he said.

"Vacuum tubes were recreated using paper printed elements that match the size, spacing, and density of the originals... Cabling paths and plugboard interfaces were recreated visually and spatially so students could understand how dense, repetitive, and precise the machine was."

Burick told The Reg that approximately 80 students labored for six months on the replica, first on design and ensuring it would be accurate at scale, and then on the tedious, repetitive work of creating and assembling the elements.

"That repetition is historically appropriate," said Burick. "The original ENIAC required the same kind of patient, precise labor, just with soldering irons instead of hot glue."

Instead of large steel panels full of wiring and electronics, the 1:1 panels are made from layered cardboard and wood, with a smattering of LED lighting. "Every major unit, accumulators, function tables, initiator, master programmer, is present and placed exactly where it was on the original machine," said Burick.

There are several decent ENIAC simulators out there, but the approach of Burick and the students is more about understanding how the original ENIAC engineers solved problems and grasping the logic and workflow of early computing.

"This project was never intended to recreate a working ENIAC," said Burick. "It was designed to recreate the experience, scale, and structure of ENIAC – so students and the public can understand what early computing really looked like and what it demanded of the people who built and operated it." ®