A Hands-on Model of the Internet
Balls roll, and the workings of the Internet are revealed.

Data coming and going over the Internet, whether text or images, is represented by a series of 0s and 1s. The series is divided into small chunks called "packets." An array of 0s and 1s called an "IP address," which represents the destination of the data is included in the header of each packet. The Internet exchanges data by delivering these packets from network to network. We have provided white and black balls to represent the 0s and 1s in the packets. In the exhibit, you can create your own packet of white and black balls and release your packet onto the Internet.