Mathematical Sciences hosts Mathsweek event for local primary school
On Friday 22 October, the School of Mathematical Sciences held a fun and interactive workshop for twenty-one 6th class primary school children as part of national Mathsweek.
Mathsweek takes place annually to promote positive attitudes to mathematics and to highlight the power and beauty of mathematical sciences, the impact it has upon our world and its role in future development and progress. Mathsweek started in 2005 and now involves over 50 partners, of which TU Dublin is a longstanding supporter, organiser and host of events. The annual festival of mathematics takes place in October and coincides with the famous discovery of quaternions by the Irish mathematician William Rowan Hamilton. This year events took place between 16 and 24 October. As many as 400,000 people participate in Mathsweek annually and, although the majority of events this year were once again online, some in-person events were possible.
The School hosted a small group of primary school children from 6th class of Stanhope Street Primary School. The event took place under strict COVID-19 mitigation measures put in place by their school and TU Dublin but the event was a welcome pre-Hallowe'en treat for the class and allowed the children to enjoy an hour of fun activities designed to engage with mathematics, boost confidence in maths skills and understand that mathematics is all around us and is literally for everyone. Activities included: Volume - mix and match which explored how much liquid (e.g. how many drinks cans) would be needed to fill spaces such as the Aviva Stadium or an Olympic swimming pool; Find the squares - a problem in creative thinking and identifying a solution strategy to count nested shapes. The morning was made all the more fun and exciting due to the kids' fancy dress for Hallowe'en.
The event was a huge success and also allowed the children to see the new Grangegorman campus and ask questions about the other STEM activities that take place there and college life. We look forward to seeing some of them again as undergraduates in seven years time!
Our Mathsweek events were organised by the School's Mathematics Engagement Coordinator, Aisling McGlinchey assisted by Ciaran O'Sullivan and Cormac Breen.