The authors were motivated to write a high school computational science textbook through their involvement with the Adventures in Supercomputing (AiS) Program. AiS introduces students to computational science which seeks to gain an understanding of science principally through the use and analysis of mathematical models on high-performance computers. Students engage in long term projects that require them to pose hypotheses, develop mathematical models to solve problems using a computer, and analyze their results. The program, supported by the Department of Energy, began in 1992 and is currently active in Alabama, Colorado, Iowa , New Mexico, and Tennessee.

High school teachers have indicated that a key element in implementing a comp utational science course is a well defined high school curriculum and textbook. This Web based textbook and teachers' manual provide curriculum materials that will aid in supporting high school computational science courses. In addition, parts of the textbook may be useful to teachers who want to integrate computational methods and technologies into other content areas.

Permission is granted to copy and download this textbook and teachers' manual for use in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Adventures in Supercomputing Program only. This draft version of both the textbook and teachers' manual are undergoing many changes as it is field tested by AiS teachers. Comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated during the revision process. The target date for completion is May 1998.