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Feb. 24, 2009
UW Math Day 2009: Inspiring high school students in mathematical pursuits
On Monday, March 23, more than 1200 high school students will descend upon the University of Washington (UW) Seattle campus for Math Day 2009. They will tour the Luminescence Dating Lab. Learn how weather forecasts are made. Ponder robots that run, climb, flap and swim. 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 2009 is available at Math Day. For questions about registration, please contact UW Extension at (206) 897-8939 or (800) 506-1325.
More than 10 UW departments involved
Math Day events to choose from
Other programs for K-12 students
About UW Educational Outreach
More than 10 UW departments involved
Math Day 2009 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 27) 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
Campus field trips and laboratory tours include:
- Health Sciences tour
- Applied Physics Lab: find out how an ultrasound device "cooks" tumors or how we discovered that the polar ice cap is thinning
- 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 include:
- Mathematics of juggling
- Paper folding and geometric models
- Panel discussions on careers in mathematics
- Boomerangs
- Math 'n' stuff: mathematical games
- Math Day magic show
- Light and shadow
- Biohand, Inc: Teams of students design and test a prosthetic finger
Presentations include:
- Jennifer Quinn, Co-editor, Math Horizons, Professor of Mathematics, UW, Tacoma, "Mathematics to DIE for: The Battle between Counting and Matching" (plenary presentation)
- Julia Pevtsova, UW Mathematics, "Symmetries, Tessellations, and Escher's Prints"
- Cliff Mass, UW Atmospheric Sciences, "How are Weather Forecasts Made?"
- Andrew Connolly, UW Astronomy, "Mapping the Sky: How to Unravel Dark Energy in 100 Billon Easy Steps"
- Alexandra Nichifor, UW Mathematics, "Warped Spaces"
- Sam Burden, UC Berkeley, EESC, "Robots that Run, Climb, Flap and Swim"
- Vladimir Minin, UW Dept of Statistics, "Mathematical Genetics: An Art of Thinking Backwards"
Other programs for K-12 students
UW World Languages Day will be held on February 27, 2009 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 2008, more than 1,200 students participated. For more information, please see UW World Languages Day.
Parents can make the most of summer for their kids by enrolling them in 2009 UW Summer Youth Programs. Registration is open now for elementary, middle, and high school students at Summer Youth. Taught by experienced educators, these programs are as entertaining as they are educational-more than 800 kids took part in summer 2008.
UW in the High School is established in more than 60 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 2007-2008 academic year. For more information, please see UW in the High School.
About UW Educational Outreach (UWEO)
UWEO is the professional and continuing education division of the University of Washington. It partners with the schools, colleges, and departments to administer evening degrees, certificate programs, online learning, and more. For more information on UWEO, please see UWEO.