The National Math Festival in Washington DC will bring families together this spring to discover the power of math in a fun and educational event. The event will include lectures, hands-on demonstrations, art, movies, performances, puzzles, games, children’s book readings, and more. The National Mathematics Festival is sponsored by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), in cooperation with the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) and the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath).
Date and Time: April 22, 2017, 10 am to 4 pm Please note that this event coincides with the March for Science and Earth Day, which will be a large-scale event on the National Mall. Plan Your Trip accordingly and maybe attend both events.
Location
Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW Washington, DC.
Parking is limited in the area. The best way to get to the Convention Center is by Metro. The closest metro station is Mt. Vernon Place / Convention Center. See a guide to parking near the Convention Center.
Highlights of the National Mathematics Festival
- Oobleck Olympics. Small teams will walk, jump, and jump through a water challenge (non-Newtonian); compete in an egg and honey dipper style race; and shoot smoke rings like William Tell. Competitors must mathematically manipulate the forces of nature to win.
- Visitors will explore the intersection of art and mathematics by solving a giant SOMA cube-based geometric puzzle or touring the selection of mathematical art exhibits of prints, sculptures, carved stones, ceramics and fiber arts created by some of the most creative artists inspired in mathematics in the world.
- Explore giant mazes, design a roller coaster, laser cut shapes and more at MoMath’s interactive carnival of hands-on math activities.
- Weather, math, ice cores, and you. Look inside an ice core and use math to figure out what Earth’s climate was like thousands of years ago from air bubbles trapped in the ice.
- Learn how math is used to forecast and understand the powerful impact of hurricanes like Sandy (2012), Irene (2011), and Katrina (2005) on families and communities with Dr. Talea L. Mayo of the University of Central Florida.
- Take your preschooler on a play date with Natural Math’s Dr. Maria Droujkova and create crafts, look for rotational symmetry in snowflakes, create a fractal cat, or play hide and seek with your lost X.
Website: www.MathFest.org.
About the Research Institute in Mathematical Sciences
The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) is one of the world’s preeminent centers for collaborative research in mathematics. Since 1982, MSRI’s topic-focused programs have brought together emerging minds and leaders in mathematics in an environment that fosters creativity and the exchange of ideas. More than 1,500 mathematical scientists spend time at MSRI headquarters in California each year. MSRI is known around the world for the quality and scope of its programs and its leadership in basic research, as well as in mathematics education and public understanding of mathematics.
For more information, visit msri.org.
About the Institute for Advanced Studies
The Institute for Advanced Study, founded in 1930 as an independent institution in Princeton, New Jersey, is one of the world’s leading centers for basic research in the sciences and humanities, where permanent faculty and visiting scholars are free to undertake some of the Deeper theoretical questions without pressure for immediate results. Its reach has multiplied many times over through the more than 7,000 scholars who have influenced entire fields of study, as well as the work and minds of colleagues and students.
For more information, visit ias.edu.
About the National Museum of Mathematics
The National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) strives to improve public understanding and perception of mathematics in everyday life. The only math museum in North America, MoMath meets an incredible demand for hands-on math programming, creating a space where those with math challenges, as well as math enthusiasts of all backgrounds and levels of understanding, can revel in the world. infinite. math through more than 30 state-of-the-art interactive exhibits. MoMath was awarded the Bronze 2013 MUSE Award for Education and Outreach by the American Alliance of Museums.
MoMath is located at 11 E. 26th on the north side of Manhattan’s popular Madison Square Park. For more information, visit momath.org.
