2009 Mathematics Department Outreach

As in previous years, the Department’s outreach this past year had a wide range of levels, scope and visibility. As always, the most spectacular were Math Day, which brought 1200 high school students from around the state to campus on March 24 for an array of lectures and activities, and SIMUW (Summer Institute in Mathematics at the University of Washington), which brought 24 high school students to campus for a full six weeks of high intensity mathematics during the summer. You can find details about these events in some previous years at www.math.washington.edu/newsletter. Another large-scale summer event was the annual Northwest Math Interaction (see photo below), a week of multi-faceted geometry learning aimed at secondary teachers from all around the state. If you want to see a face light up, talk with any of the teachers who have been there, and if you want to see kids doing some interesting geometry projects, check out their classes.

Secondary school teachers participating in the Northwest Mathematics Interaction display a giant regular tetrahedron constructed from solar tube balloons.

On a smaller scale, but very enriching, are the various activities with local schools. Individual faculty members and graduate students continue to work with children at many levels, in class or after school, with single visits or in on-going math clubs. Some of these have been arranged through our connection with Explorations in Math (EIM; www.explorationsinmath.org). Up through spring quarter we were able to work with them to bring a bunch of undergraduates into one elementary school per quarter and teach children games that they were then able to teach their families at a school Math Night. If funding reappears, so will that activity. One of EIM’s activities for which we continue to supply volunteers is their Math Fest (see photo above), at which hundreds of families from around Seattle come to spend several hours on math games and activities. There are phenomenal amounts of energy and noise, and it’s all about mathematics!

On a different level entirely, an outreach effort that dates back to the nineties is bearing fruit. Since 1998, the Department has supported the development of an organization bringing together faculty members from colleges and universities throughout the state who teach mathematics to future teachers. The group, called WaToToM (Washington Teachers of Teachers of Mathematics) has grown over the years in stature, cohesion and voice. As a result, when the state put together the Washington State Education Coordinating Council last year, WaToToM was given a seat on the council. So the original outreach to universities and colleges has now enabled those colleges and universities to reach out together to the state—a nice development!

Excited faces at Math Fest, an annual city-wide celebration of elementary school students and mathematics.

Ginger Warfield