Math + ‘Fun’ = Success!

Morgan Hill
– Advanced calculus is one thing, but a bigger math problem for
teachers is getting young students interested in a sometimes
foreign concept: Math can be fun.
Morgan Hill – Advanced calculus is one thing, but a bigger math problem for teachers is getting young students interested in a sometimes foreign concept: Math can be fun.

“The biggest challenges are to get (students) past whatever intimidation or fear they have of math and also keep them interested in a subject some of them do have real anxiety about,” said Mary Lastra, who teaches math to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders at Charter School Morgan Hill.

Sunday, the renowned American Institute of Mathematics offered a solution. It sponsored its second annual Math Mardi Gras at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center. 

Lastra and about 300 other people were drawn in by the science-fair-like atmosphere. Most participants were Morgan Hill children and their parents. They enjoyed booths with logic problems, friendly competitions for parents and students acting as teams and prizes ranging from gift certificates to Fry’s Electronics to an iPod Nano. 

Kids tracking their performance at age-appropriate math games had a chance to become “kings” and “queens” of the festival. A Rubik’s cube competition pitted speedy opponents against the clock as the audience cheered. A math jeopardy game, fashioned after the popular TV game show, entertained young contestants who buzzed in their answers to word problems. A sudoku contest encouraged parents and children to work together to organize numbers.

It all added up to an enjoyable celebration of mathematics.

“Anything that attracts youngsters to mathematics is welcome, I think,” said Hidefumi Katsuura, a math professor at San Jose State University who occupied a table with handcrafted, three-dimensional wooden puzzles for young problem solvers. “These types of hands-on puzzles are really fun … and these kinds of old-fashioned toys are kind of neglected. I really like to encourage people to enjoy these.”

Internationally known AIM launched its Math Mardi Gras festival last year. The institution is currently moving from temporary digs in Palo Alto to a 167,000-square-foot building in Morgan Hill. The $50 million building is under construction on Foothill Boulevard and AIM hopes to host its first conference there in Fall 2009. Founded by Silicon Valley businessmen John Fry and Steve Sorenson, AIM draws cutting-edge scholars from around the world and funds research in the field of mathematics.  

“We want to engage the community as much as we can,” Conrey said. “When we’ve got our new building here, we want people to come visit. We want classes to take field trips to see what it’s like to do mathematics.”

Who knows? Perhaps the next Albert Einstein will be carrying a Rubik’s cube in his or her backpack.