MatheMagic - a vehicle for popularising mathematics worldwide
The 1st national meeting of MatheMagic will be held during the MA/ATM
conference at Liverpool Hope University next Tuesday at 9.15pm.
It will be in the Derwent Bar and everyone is welcome.
Further information is attached. If you are interested, please send £1 to
get on the mailing list or £5 to become a member. (Cheques payable to
"MatheMagic", please.)
I see MatheMagic as being an umbrella network obtaining resources and
providing advice and other support to anyone wanting to develop similar
activities in their own area. I would welcome having MatheMagic "cells"
scattered round the country - perhaps every MA or ATM group should have one.
Please let me have you feedback and comments.
Thank you
JOHN BIBBY
(Home Tel: 01904-424200)
PS: You will see that the list of possible activities includes the
"Children's Census" originally proposed by New Zealand statisticians. I
understand the RSS is driving this now (good!) - but can you suggest other
imaginative statistical projects?
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MatheMagic/ Maths Year 2000
"Maths + Technology = Skills for All"
(we want to "ring the changes on this strapline - its briefest version is
"Maths for All"
Other versions are of the form
"Maths + X = Y for all"
It could also be "Stats + ..... "
Please suggest solution for X and Y - or suggest a better strapline!)
MatheMagic is a fledgling national network of people committed to promoting
mathematics both inside and outside the classroom. We believe that everyone
can do mathematics if they meet it in appropriate ways. (Indeed, everyone
does do mathematics, often unwittingly - part of our aim is to open
people's eyes to mathematics in our everyday lives.)
Our members are parents, teachers, writers, business-people and others
interested in learning. We network with universities, schools, community
groups and major mathematics organisations.
MatheMagic aims to enhance access to mathematical skills and ideas by
exploiting their potential for fun and beauty. We believe that ANYONE can
do mathematics - indeed everyone does, often without realising it.
To get our message across we stress links between mathematics and other
activities - maths and art, maths and games, maths and science, maths and
work etc.. We use conventional and unconventional means - Maths FunFairs,
Maths Trails, summer-schools, pub and supermarket events etc., as well as
more conventional radio, TV and publishing activities.
MatheMagic has developed from other organisations, primarily the MA/ATM and
the Maths FunFair Network. Our members have worked closely with NRich, MeV
and other groups promoting access and learning in mathematics. We have
received grants and been supported by the Workers Educational Association,
the Royal Society COPUS Fund, Science City York and other groups at home and
overseas. We have also received funding and other support from private
bodies - thus we are a genuine private-public partnership
We are currently working to become a charity. Funded via a private-public
mix, we are always seeking new sponsors and partners to work with.
Whole document © MatheMagic
Don't forget the 1999 Maths FunFairs (19th June, Houghton le Spring; 23rd
October, York)
Contact John Bibby to join (£5) or to get on mailing list (£1): fax to
01904-424381 or post to MatheMagic 1 Straylands Grove, York YO31 1EB.
Cheques payable to "MatheMagic", please.
MatheMagic is building up a programme of fundable proposals. Your help is
sought in improving and adding to the following.
National Maths Year Network
MY2000 must not be perceived as "yet another South-based event". Effective
national networking is essential to ensure wide outreach and innovative
events throughout the UK. Current networks tend to be school-based; MY2000
must reach wider and deeper than this. (MatheMagic, ACLF, COPUS).
Supermarket Maths
Maths activities in supermarkets and shopping malls (Sainsbury Maths, Tesco,
MeV).
Railway Maths: Maths On Line
"Brain trains"/maths on railway stations (National Railway Museum, GNER,
MatheMagic/MeV).
Museum Maths
A maths trail in every Museum, Art Gallery and tourist attraction in the
country. (GEM, Alton Towers, Nottingham and Bradford museums, National
Trusts, National and local Tourist Boards, Art Boards etc.).
Rugby League Maths
Homework clubs and other activities. (Wakefield, Hull Kingston Rovers etc.)
.
BeerMat(h)s
Puzzles on beermats. Maths trivia quiz. Puzzle Pub evenings. (ATM, York
Brewery, John Smith's).
Maths Calendar 2000
A calendar for every school with a puzzle for each day of the year.
Adult Numeracy
Enhance available Australian and other resources (WEA, AAMT, Avanti).
Maths Caravans or Busses/MY Outreach
"Math in the Van" - Mobile Resource Centres reaching every housing estate
and shopping centre in the land (Portakabin, Ebor Caravans).
Literacy Counts
Literacy-numeracy links. Mathematical vocabulary and syntax; Maths drama;
Year 6/7 Summer Schools. (Roald Dahl Foundation; Education Extra, Burnholme
College Summer Schools).
Family Maths Networks
Exploit existing US materials to facilitate multi-generational family
learning (Education Extra, Greater Manchester Mathematical Challenge).
Mathematical Autobiographies
Children interview their grandparents' generation to discover their
mathematical experiences and the maths they have learned and used throughout
their lifetime (Roald Dahl Foundation).
Children's Census
Every school collects a local database; these are then pooled to create a
national resource. (Royal Statistical Society, CSO, Tesco Schoolnet,
QED/Fathom, New Zealand Campaign for Mathematics).
York Maths Year/MathCity/Mathopolis
Local maths years (or longer - the York one is proposed to run from the 1999
York Maths FunFair until April 2001). (Science City York, etc.).
High Street Maths
High Street trails supported by local companies.
The Great Guinness/Smarties Number Work-Pack
Opportunities for major companies to support numeracy in every home in the
UK.
PopMaths Quiz (Sheffield Hallam University)
A national quiz event.
Maths - "Queen of Sciences"
Tie-ins with BAAS/ASE Festivals of Science (Sheffield, London, Leeds etc.).
MaX: Maths across the Curriculum
MaX= "Maths and X", exploring links between Maths and Art, Maths and Science
etc. - "X" can be anything from astronomy to zebras. Links with community
and interest groups. (RSPB, Greenpeace, Music and Poetry Foundations etc.).
Maths from the 3rd Age
Maths for senior citizens and Maths from senior citizens (ALM, U3Y, WEA and
other Lifelong Learning Organisations).
WMY2000
Tie-ins with WMY activities (see WMY News). International and internet
links. Posters in the subways (competition already announced), postage
stamps, Maths and Art etc. (links with Germany and Museo di arte del
castello di Rivoli (Italy)). UK participation in International Conferences
(ICME-9, Tokyo; ECM-3, Barcelona; Alhambra 2000 etc.).
Bitesize mathematics
Maths in chewable chunks; just-in-time or "JIT mathematics" (OU/BBC).
Street Maths
What maths do kids use in establishing "street cred"? What can teachers
learn from folk culture, computer games etc.?
"I never knew maths could be such Fun!"
A review of positive attitudes to mathematics and mathematical ideas.
MathArt/MathPoetry etc.
National competitions aimed at new audiences.
TravelPuzzles/Maths on the Busses
A nationwide extension of "Poetry on the Tube". A little puzzle for
everybody to work out before they get off! (Mensa, COPUS, LT, GNER).
Includes Tube Challenge; Bus Challenge etc.
Math Videos
Life By The Numbers (WQED) and other. (Channel 4, Boulton-Hawker.).
Effective use of New Technology
Separating the hopeful from the hype. (National Conference and other
events).
Children's Book Week
Maths and literature; information books; write your own maths book for your
younger brother/sister. (Literacy Trust etc.).
Dome Activities
Teacher packs and maths trail for Greenwich Dome (preliminary meeting held
with NMEC 9/98); also Millennium Festival nationwide.
Evidence-based Maths Learning
A database analogous to the NHS one, bringing Maths Learning and Research
into Maths Learning face-to-face (University of York, BSRLM).
Evaluating Maths Events
Develop effective protocols (Imperial College).
Maths into Journalism will Go
Training programmes for potential Maths and Science Journalists.
(Europe-wide: EUSJA and ABSW).
Operation 6-7
Easing the maths interface between junior and secondary school.
Premier League Mathematics
All meetings of maths professionals in 2000 will be invited to have a "Meet
the Professionals" session, introducing the public to what "real"
mathematicians do, or satellite activities promoting public awareness (GMC,
Bernoulli Society, Royal Society etc.).
Mathematics in YOUR World
Making Friends with Numbers
Campaigns to open people's eyes to the maths around them (COPUS).
PrimeBusters
Prime Numbers as a theme for learning activities at all levels from
pre-school to professional.
Nobel Mathematics
We hope to persuade the Nobel Committee to award a Nobel Prize in
Mathematics as an exceptional measure to celebrate World Mathematical Year
2000. Failing that, we shall seek a UK equivalent.
Building Bridges:
Using mathematics to build intellectual bridges (Maths & Art, Maths & Music
etc.) and community bridges (All-Ireland Activities, Bosnia Counts
supporting mathematics in Bosnia, Jewish-Muslim collaboration etc. etc.).
Mathematical Roots
Refugee groups and others of non-British origin will be invited to explore
the mathematics in their traditional culture and to link with maths
activities in their region of origin.
Trail of Trails
Linked Maths Trails throughout the country (Millennium Festival).
21st Century Legacy Proposals
Infinity: the Mathematics Centre for Everybody: a Hands-on Museum and
Activity Centre (MeV)
National FunMaths Network: a Permanent National Network for Popularising
Mathematics (MatheMagic, NRich, York and Newcastle Maths FunFairs etc.,
etc.).
Extensive consultation still needed.
Whole document © MatheMagic
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