Math Carnival makes numbers fun for kids

As hundreds of kids and their families learned recently, Altgeld Hall is a great place to learn not just mathematics, but how math and numbers can solve problems.

On a recent Saturday, large crowds from Champaign-Urbana converged on Altgeld for Math Carnival: Gathering for Gardner. The event’s purpose was to engage the community as well as honor the late Martin Gardner, a famous mathematics and science writer who created “recreational mathematics” by engaging audiences with puzzles.

According to mathematics professor Philipp Hieronymi, who organized the event with Melinda Lanius, a doctoral mathematics student, between 750 and 1,000 people attended the activity, called “Math is play!” These numbers completely exceeded Hieronymi’s expectations.

The opportunity to make math accessible to the public drew numerous volunteers from Illinois’ Department of Mathematics, Illinois Geometry Lab, and Association for Women in Mathematics.

Visitors participated in a variety of math-related activities spread out in stations over several different rooms in Altgeld. They included hands-on activities, riddles, magic tricks, games, and estimation activities.

The Snowflake Station was a very popular activity where participants learned about snowflakes and their unique properties. Children created their own snowflake for a great take-away item. Other stations such as the Tile Emporium, Riddle Mania, Crossing the River, and Estimation Station challenged participants to solve a variety of math problems that were presented as games.

Many student volunteers offered up their time to help make the event special for all involved.

U of I sophomore Emily Alameda said she participated in the Math Carnival because she appreciated how the event made mathematicians available to the community.

“I didn't have exposure to this in high school or in elementary school or middle school, and I think if I had understood how math really is, how fun it can be, I would have been more interested in studying it earlier,” Alameda said.

Helping with Estimation Station was math graduate student, Hadrian Quan, who hoped to remove some of the seriousness of math.

"As a student of mathematics, I like to remind others that math can be recreational and fun. Getting to interact with hundreds of children and their families at a math carnival is my ideal Saturday,"Quan said.

Some community members brought their children to each their children that math is for everyone. One local mother particularly felt the event would be of benefit to her nine-year-old daughter, Ella, who said math is her favorite subject.

“I want her to know that girls can do anything boys can do,” Ella’s mother said. “And she can be a math teacher or an engineer if she wants to be!”

Based on the resounding success of the event, Hieronymi is already planning for next year.

"It is clear that such an event should have a permanent place in the (U of I) calendar," he said.