Background

Mathematics plays a role in everything we do; how we think; and in our future. Our experience shows that when kids are engaged in problem-solving about things that they do; and that is of interest to them; math becomes fun. Whether it is figuring out how much force you need to tackle a football player of a certain weight; or how many minutes Michael Jordan must play on the court to make a million dollars; or understanding the study of repeating geometrical patterns in a quilt; math can be fun! It can also be intellectually stimulating.

Benchmark: 80% of middle and high school students complete a research project by 2008.

Math Fair Prep: Introductory Talks

As in past years, mathematicians for BU, UML, and EDC will visit the schools and act as mentors to the teachers and students.

• On January 28, 2008, Dick Hall (BU) met with the math coaches and lead teachers at Chelsea's Browne Middle School. The teachers brainstormed ways in which they could improve the mathematical quality of the projects developed by their students.
• On February 6, 2008, Dick Hall (BU) met with Waltham Middle School math teachers to discuss how FoM could help this year's math fairs and how to proceed in future years.
• On March 14, 2008 (Pi Day!!), Steve Benson (EDC) went to the South Lawrence East Middle School and meet with students from grades 5-8.
• On March 18 and 20, James Graham-Eagle (UML) met with the 5th through 8th grade students at Guilmette middle school to discuss math fair problems. He met with each groups of students to discuss choosing a good topic or ways in which to incorporate more mathematics into their chosen topic.

Local Math Fairs

• 17 District Math Fairs displayed student research projects beginning in April 2008. Five district high schools, eleven middle schools, and one elementary school participated.

• A team of FoM Mathematicians were always available to work with teachers and principals to facilitate the poster evaluation and review process at each Math Fair.

Math Expo Announcement

Museum of Science Math Expo:   June 14, 2008

Museo de Ciencias (en Español)

Math Expo

The 2008 Math Expo was held on Saturday, June 14 from noon to 3:00 PM at the Museum of Science, Washburn Pavilion.

Boston University Professor Dick Hall opened with welcoming remarks to a packed crowd of students, teachers, parents, grandparents, School Superintendents, Principals, Political Representatives, research mathematicians, visiting scientists, and educators.

See a list of all the student participants and their project titles:
Expo Program

Highlights

• Around 2,500 students participated in a math research project.

• 1370 research projects were displayed in Math Fairs.

• 134 research projects (with a combined effort of 251 students) were selected for display at the Math Expo.

• All 251 students involved in the Math Expo received at least two personal letters of citation from their local congressmen.

The Expo was a culmination of many events that contributed to its success. Due to the collaboration between teachers, administrators, mathematicians and parents it was a shared community experience that has strengthened our partnership and our mutual commitment to student achievement.