Ada's Ideas: The Story of Ada Lovelace, the World's First Computer Programmer

Gr 2–4—Ada Lovelace was the child of poet Lord Byron and mathematician Anne Isabella Milbanke. In this adaptation of author/illustrator Fiona Robinson's picture book biography, the whimsical artwork is animated with mechanical movements. Pastel-colored line drawings combine with lively piano music to set a capricious tone. Illustrations are layered to create a sense of dimension. As the program begins, Lovelace is seen through holes in what appears to be a wall, reminiscent of the holes in cards she later devised as a programming language. Numbers and symbols literally dance around her, giving a poetic aspect to her practical nature. While she dreams of inventing a mechanical horse, her creativity is funneled into loftier and more practical ideas. Using algorithms, Lovelace devises a programming language that could be understood by machines such as the one her friend Charles Babbage conceived, the Analytical Engine, using a concept that would later develop into modern calculators and computers. Lovelace's astonishing accomplishment, so forward-thinking, was achieved while she also filled the roles of wife and mother of three during her short life; she died at the age of 36. Viewers will be impressed with Lovelace's analytical acumen during a time when most women were quietly relegated to domestic pursuits.