On Monday, March 24, more than 1200 high school students will descend upon the University of Washington (UW) Seattle campus for Math Day 2008.

They will tour the Aeronautics and Astronautics Wind Tunnel. Learn how weather forecasts are made. Ponder why dogs have wet noses and other mathematical insights. Enjoy a math & magic show. Those are just a few of the many activities to choose from during this annual event showcasing mathematics as an exciting, practical, and rewarding pursuit.

"Math Day is the largest mathematical event for high school students in the USA," said Jim Morrow, Professor, UW Mathematics. "Students have come from as far away as Idaho and teachers from Africa. They are excited to spend the day seeing math in action and visiting the University of Washington."

A $14 per person registration fee includes all seminars, labs, and materials. There is also a $35 registration fee per school. Individual students attending without a school sponsorship must be accompanied by a registered adult and pay the $35 registration fee. More information about UW Math Day 2008 is available at www.outreach.washington.edu/k12/mathday. For questions about registration, please contact UW Extension at (206) 887-8939 or (800) 506-1325.

More than 10 UW departments involved
Math Day events to choose from
Other upcoming events for high school students
About UW in the High School and Educational Outreach
About UW Educational Outreach

More than 10 UW departments involved

Math Day 2008 is presented by the UW Department of Mathematics and UW Educational Outreach, the continuing and professional education division of the UW that also administers UW in the High School, educational programs for K-12 teachers, and special events for children including UW World Languages Day (February 29) and Summer Youth Programs.

Other Math Day partners include the UW Departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Applied Math, Astronomy, Atmospheric Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth and Space Sciences, Genetics, Molecular Biotechnology, Oceanography, Physics, Statistics, Zoology, the UW Medical Center, and the Center for Advanced Research Technology in the Arts and Humanities. With the involvement of UW experts in so many fields related to mathematics, students will find inspiration for future careers.

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Math Day events to choose from

Campus field trips and laboratory tours

• Aeronautics and Astronautics Wind Tunnel tour
• Applied Physics Lab: find out how an ultrasound device "cooks" tumors or how we discovered that the polar ice cap is thinning
• Planetarium tour
• Luminescence Dating Lab: under red light, learn how scientists can date prehistoric pottery
• Seismology Lab: visit the home of the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network monitoring earthquake activity and the Cascade Volcanoes
• Oceanography Lab: see how scientists use a water-filled replica of Puget Sound to study the environmental impact of pollution

Math related activities

• Math and Sudoku
• Paper folding and geometric models
• Panel discussions on careers in mathematics
• Boomerangs
• Math 'n' stuff: mathematical games
• Luncheon discussion for teachers
• Geometry computer lab
• Mathematical card tricks
• Math Day magic show
• Light and shadow

Presentations

• Noble Hendrix, Biometrician, R2 Resource Consultants, Inc., "One Fish, Two Fish, False Fish, True Fish" (plenary presentation)
• Wick Haxton, UW Physics, "Neutrinos and Mass"
• Ioana Dumitriu, UW Mathematics, "On Playing Golf with Two Balls and Other (Mathematical) Decision Problems"
• Cliff Mass, UW Atmospheric Sciences, "How are Weather Forecasts Made?"
• Paul Hacking, UW Mathematics, "The Curvature of Surfaces"
• Tim Chartier, UW Mathematics, "Mime-matics"
• Zack Treisman, UW Mathematics, "Map Making and Vice-Versa"
• MMoshe Rosenfel, UW Mathematics, "Tricky Mathematics and Mathematical Tricks"
• Alexandra Nichifor, UW Mathematics, "Warped Spaces"
• Millie Johnson, Western Washington University Mathematics, "Why Dogs have Wet Noses and Other Mathematical Insights"
• Monty McGovern, UW Mathematics, "Fibonacci Numbers and Chinese Nim"

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Other upcoming events for high school students

UW World Languages Day will be held on February 29 on the UW Seattle campus. High school students will enjoy classes in many different languages from Irish to Inuktitut, attend presentations and entertaining activities in a wide variety of cultural topics, and learn about careers using world languages.

In 2007, more than 1,200 students participated. For more information, please see www.outreach.washington.edu/k12/wld/default.asp.

Parents can make the most of summer for their kids by enrolling them in UW Summer Youth Programs. Registration is open now for elementary, middle, and high school students at www.summeryouth.washington.edu. Taught by experienced educators, these programs are as entertaining as they are educational-more than 800 kids took part in summer 2007.

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About UW in the High School

UW in the High School is established in more than 50 schools throughout Washington State. Students complete UW courses-and earn UW credit-in their own classrooms with their own teachers, who work with a UW academic liaison. More than 2500 students participated in the 2006-2007 academic year. By this collaborative relationship with the schools, the UW helps strengthen upper-division high school offerings.

Courses include history, English composition, foreign languages (French, German, Spanish and Japanese), mathematics, astronomy, earth science, and information technology. UW in the High School is fully accredited by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP). For more information, please see www.outreach.washington.edu/uwhs.

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About UW Educational Outreach (UWEO)

UWEO is the continuing and professional education division of the University of Washington, the nationally recognized public research institution based in Seattle.

Helping the schools, colleges, and departments to administer evening master's degrees, certificate programs, distance and online learning, international outreach and English language programs, and more, UWEO is one of the largest and most highly regarded continuing and professional education programs in the U.S. Programs administered by UWEO include UW in the High Schools and courses for K-12 educators. For more information on UWEO, please see www.outreach.washington.edu/uweo.

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