The WikiExplorers and the Brilliant Mind of David Blackwell

An educational children’s story designed for ages 9–12 about a group of curious kids called the WikiExplorers, who take on a Wikipedia research assignment and discover the story of David Blackwell and his surprising connection to AI and NVIDIA.

The WikiExplorers and the Brilliant Mind of David Blackwell

Written for Young Readers | Ages 9–12

Once a week, in a quiet corner of the school library, a special group of kids gathered. They called themselves the WikiExplorers—because their mission was to explore, discover, and share knowledge with the world by editing real Wikipedia articles.

The club had five members:

Zora, the thoughtful writer

Miles, the math genius

Kai, the tech whiz

Luna, the fact-checker

Tariq, the big-picture thinker

One Friday afternoon, their club advisor, Ms. Ocampo, arrived with a special assignment.

“Today, WikiExplorers,” she said, placing a stack of printouts on the table, “you’re going to add new information to a Wikipedia article—about NVIDIA, the computer company, and a mathematician named David Blackwell.”

“Wait,” said Kai, raising an eyebrow. “What do math and a computer chip company have to do with each other?”

“That,” Ms. Ocampo smiled, “is exactly what I want you to find out.”

 A Name on a Chip

The kids gathered around the laptop. Zora read aloud from the NVIDIA article:

 “In 2024, NVIDIA released a new chip architecture called Blackwell, named after David Blackwell.”

Miles sat up. “Blackwell? I’ve heard that name in probability class! He did something with how to make decisions using math!”

They all leaned in closer.

 Digging into Blackwell

Luna pulled up David Blackwell’s Wikipedia page. “He was the first African American member of the National Academy of Sciences,” she said. “He was a math professor who worked on game theory, statistics, and information theory!”

Miles whistled. “Information theory is huge in AI. It helps machines figure out what’s useful when making a decision.”

“And decision-making is what NVIDIA’s chips do,” added Kai. “They power AI programs that need to choose what to say, what to draw, even how to drive a car.”

Suddenly, things were clicking.

 “David Blackwell didn’t just study numbers,” said Tariq. “He studied how to think.”

 The Update

The WikiExplorers decided to write this paragraph together:

 “NVIDIA’s 2024 Blackwell architecture is named in honor of David Harold Blackwell (1919–2010), an American mathematician whose work in decision theory, game theory, and statistics laid important foundations for modern artificial intelligence. His contributions help inform how machines evaluate data, make choices, and measure information—all essential to AI systems today.”

They double-checked their sources. They linked to both Blackwell’s and NVIDIA’s articles. They hit “Publish”.

Then they sat back in silence.

 “It’s like we just added a missing puzzle piece,” Zora said quietly.

A New Kind of Hero

The kids felt proud—not just because they made a real contribution to Wikipedia, but because they had discovered someone special.

 “He was quiet,” said Luna. “Not flashy or loud, but his thinking changed the world.”

 “And now millions of people can read about him,” added Zora. “That’s kind of like giving him a thank-you.”

 The Mission Continues

The WikiExplorers met again the next week. Their new motto, written on the whiteboard, read:

 “Every article tells a story. Every story deserves to be told.”

And off they went—typing, reading, linking, and sharing the brilliance they uncovered with the world, one Wikipedia article at a time.

Author's Note:

Want to become a WikiExplorer yourself? You can! Ask a librarian or adult to help you make an account at Wikipedia.org. Start small, and who knows—you might be the next kid to shine a light on a brilliant mind from history.