Did You Know?
A copper sculpture called Kryptos sits at CIA headquarters holding four coded messages, and after 35 years the fourth has still never been publicly solved. In 2025, the artist auctioned the answer to an anonymous buyer for $962,500.
How to Get Started
Getting started as an intelligence analyst begins with curiosity, a love of questions, and the habit of checking whether information is true. Reading widely, playing with codes and puzzles, and practicing clear writing are all great early steps. Every news story you question, map you study, and mystery you solve builds the thinking skills analysts use every day.
Explore the Basics
Play a "detective eyes" game together: look at a busy picture or room for 30 seconds, then close your eyes and see how many details you can remember. Visit the CIA's free Spy Kids website (cia.gov/spy-kids) with a parent or caregiver to read stories, play code-breaking games, and learn how analysts help keep the country safe. Talk about why noticing small details and asking questions matters so much in this work.
Try It Out
Write a secret message with lemon juice and a cotton swab, let it dry, and then have an adult reveal it by gently warming the paper, for example with a hair dryer or near a warm lamp. Next, make a simple cipher wheel from two paper plates to swap each letter for another and send a coded note to a family member. These activities show how people have protected and uncovered secret messages for hundreds of years.
Join the Community
Check your local library for mystery book clubs, puzzle nights, or escape room programs designed for kids. Many libraries and children's museums also host free STEM events with code and logic activities. These experiences let young detectives practice teamwork and problem solving with others who share their curiosity.