field trips related to math

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Ideas for a Math Field Trip

How to Teach Mathematics in the Primary School

Field trips offer opportunites for teachers to show students how the subjects they are teaching are used outside the classroom. Students are motivated as they learn to connect the subjects with real-world situations. Math is often seen as an abstract subject and can benefit from field trips. The number 5, for example, can be written down and thought about, but seeing five apples lined up on a teacher’s desk gives perspective to the topic. Field trips that focus on math can help students become engaged in the subject.

Visit a tall landmark such as a nearby building. Ask students to calculate the height of the building by using trigonometry. Make sure students bring their calculators.

Sporting Event

A field trip to a sporting event can become a fun way to teach math. Students can record statistics at the event. For example, the number of hits and at-bats can be recorded during a baseball game. Batting averages can be calculated as part of classroom activities on the next school day.

A tour of a factory can turn into a fun math field trip. Ask the tour guide about how math is used in the design and manufacture of the product. Ask students in ensuing classes about why the math that was mentioned during the tour matters. Ask about how mistakes made in the math could affect the final product.

Take a field trip to a farm and use math to calculate the farm’s yield. The students could make initial guesses. The size of the plots on the farm could be given to the students, then a small section of the plot could be counted by hand, multiplying the count to calculate the farm’s total yield.

Visit a city or state park. Ask students to calculate the total size of the park. Students can be given maps, or at a smaller park, make the measurements themselves. The calculations can be complicated by a park that has irregular borders.

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Virtual Math Field Trips

Here are my current favorite virtual math field trips for all grades preK-12. Whether you teach (or parent) elementary, middle school or high school students, here are some ways to make math come alive.

The National Museum of Mathematics

The National Museum of Mathematics  is my number one recommendation for virtual math field trips. This New York based museum offers many options of virtual field trips. They also offer Family Fridays, math bookclub, math workouts and live classes for grades prek-12. There are both free and paid options, and scholarships are available.  See all the current options here.

U.S. Census Bureau

In this virtual math field trip, students of all ages can learn about the 2020 Census. They will learn how census data is collected and used. They will get a behind-the-scenes introduction to the Census Bureau through exclusive interviews with subject matter experts. At the end of the program there is an interactive challenge.

The US Census site also has 20 other different math activities available  here for grades pre K through 12.

Math in the Real World: Building a House 

Math at Work: Math Meets Home Building

Description from YouTube: “The Make It Right Foundation and Ty Pennington from ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team up with HMH Math to make math fun for students. They work with high school students to rebuild homes in New Orleans Lower 9th Ward while demonstrating the connections between math and construction and design.” Free lesson plans available. 

Math At Work: Math Meets Culinary Arts

Visit The Institute for Culinary Education and see culinary students challenged to make an entree, side dish and dessert while demonstrating how ratios, proportions and percentages are used for cooking.

Math Meets Fashion

Visit New York City and meet fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, Project Runway’s Tim Gunn and several fashion design students to learn how math is used to create fashion.

STEM Virtual Field Trips

Some of these trips focus more on science standards than math, but we know that science and math always go together. Look for great real life examples on gathering and analyzing data.

Girl Scouts Girls Get STEM

Unleash your citizen scientist.

Virtual field trip to the STEM Center for Excellence video, educator guide, and pre/post field trip student activities for grades 2-5

STEM Careers in the NBA

Nickelodeon Slime in Space

This free 15-minute virtual field trip  takes students 250 miles above the   earth to the International Space Station. There, they will learn along with the astronauts as they demonstrate how slime reacts to microgravity compared to how water reacts in the same environment. Download a free activity guide for grades 3-5 (adaptable to other grade levels.)

Innovation Generation

In this virtual field trip  middle school students have an engineering challenge to build crash test cars. Educator guide is available for download.

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10 exciting in-person and virtual STEM field trips

Engaging stem field trips help students link classroom learning to real-world possibilities.

STEM field trips are no longer limited to traditional science centers–today’s STEM trips are interactive, engaging, and bring classroom concepts to life for students.

Every student loves a field trip, and with a little planning, it can be mostly fun and low-stress for teachers and chaperones.

One of the best things about a STEM field trip is that it gives students a chance to apply their classroom learning to a real-life situation. This kind of engagement helps students see how professionals use STEM each day, and it also prompts them to consider STEM for their own future.

While in-person field trips are exciting, they’re not always feasible for schools with funding or geographic challenges. In those cases, virtual STEM field trips might be the best option.

We’ve put together a list of in-person and virtual STEM field trips to get you thinking about where your next trip might take your students.

1. Sports games offer a fun and engaging way to challenge students to use STEM concepts they’ve learned in class. Many minor-league baseball teams offer STEM days for students at all grade levels, featuring simple concepts and demonstrations for younger students and more complicated challenges for older students. Check out the nonprofit Science of Sport to get started.

2. If you’re near an iFLY indoor skydiving center , a field trip is a great way to illustrate STEM learning. iFLY’s STEM program uses a vertical wind tunnel to inspire and educate students through an interactive presentation, demos in the wind tunnel, and grade-appropriate lab activities.

3. Roller rinks double as a great throwback to your younger days and as a fun STEM activity, covering topics such as friction, physics, design, and engineering. Here’s an intro from the Roller Skating Association International , and don’t forget to check out your area’s local roller skating rinks.

4. If you want to learn or brush up on some basics, check out this Microsoft Education crash course on using Skype for virtual field trips.

5. EarthEcho features a wide variety of virtual STEM field trips, including topics on water and sustainable futures, how one female biologist forged her career path, and engineering and its contributions to everyday life.

6. Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants hosts 20+ Google Hangout events for classrooms each month. Full day, week-long, and month-long events focus on oceans, biodiversity, women in science, space exploration, and more.

7. Discovery Education’s STEM field trips  let students examine the annual polar bear migration on the tundra, investigate real-life STEM professionals and what a day on the job entails, take a peek at a space center, and more.

8. These three science and nature virtual field trips take students across the globe as they tackle climate change, ecotourism, combating desertification, and different ecosystems.

9. With a Navy STEM virtual field trip, students will hear personal stories from service members and learn about how STEM takes these professionals from an F-18 to the flight deck control on an aircraft carrier.

10. Local science centers and science exploration zones shouldn’t be overlooked–many of them have updated their field trip curriculum to be more modern, relevant, and engaging for students.

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The 22 Ultimate Virtual Field Trips & Tours for Students

Written by Maria Kampen

• Teacher Resources

• What is a virtual tour and how does it work?
• Technology powering virtual field trips for students
• 22 Best virtual field trips for students
• How to incorporate virtual tours into learning activities

Imagine taking your entire class to see one of the seven wonders of the world up close and personal — and then being back at school before the final bell rings. 

The rise of online learning activities during the pandemic accelerated the availability of virtual field trips , tours and experiences for students of all ages. Now there are many interactive virtual tours available to places that would be impossible to reach on a class trip — the pyramids in Egypt, the Louvre museum in Paris or even an African safari.

We put together a list of 22 unforgettable virtual field trips and experiences that will help your students see amazing sights, connect their learning to real-world experiences and expand their horizons.

Virtual tours allow students to explore noteworthy places around the world, from the comfort of their home or the classroom. 

Virtual tours give students the opportunity to stop, explore and guide learning at their own pace. While they’re exploring, they can get up close to nature or artifacts that might not otherwise be easily accessible. 

Virtual tours can be many different things, including:

• A live webcam of a zoo or animal habitat
• A 360 degree view of a location you can manipulate
• Pictures enriched with helpful information and diagrams

Even ten or fifteen years ago, video tours would have been rare or impossible. Advancements in technology and education have combined to help people learn and explore from anywhere!

• National Geographic creates TV series about nature, history and archaeology
• Food shows like Netflix’s Salt Fat Acid Heat take viewers on food journeys across the world
• Planet Earth , a television series, brings far-flung locations to your living room or classroom
• Discovery Education gives educators access to multimedia resources that supplement classroom learning
• Video conferencing technology like Zoom lets you connect with people and learning experiences around the world

We love being able to sit at home or in the classroom and learn about different foods, cultures and geography. Why not introduce that to your students?

1. Take a trip to the zoo

Whether it’s live webcams of adorable pandas or behind-the-scenes tours with zookeepers, zoos all over the world offer ways for animal antics to delight and entertain your students. 

Some of our favorites include:

• Edinburgh Zoo’s Panda Cam
• Georgia Aquarium’s Beluga Whale Livestream
• The Smithsonian National Zoo’s Naked Mole-rat Cam
• A live feed of African river wildlife in Laikipia County, Kenya
• The San Diego Zoo Live Ape Cam , or any of their other live animal feeds
• Home Safari videos from the Cincinnati Zoo, where zookeepers introduce you to the hundreds of animals that make the zoo their home.

2. Visit The Hidden Worlds of National Parks

From Yosemite to Mesa Verde, explore some of the USA’s most beloved and beautiful national parks with The Hidden World of National Parks .  

Supported by Google Arts & Culture , students can use the same technology that powers Street View to explore the national parks at their own pace. 

The program also includes guided tours from park rangers, where they share their expertise as you explore. Follow the on-screen prompts and let them guide your adventure!

3. Watch the Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otters

Play with the sea otters as they swim around Monterey Bay Aquarium in California! Tune in throughout the day to see them being fed, learn fun facts about otters and watch them play in the water. 

If you’d like to check out some other aquarium-related channels, Monterey Bay Aquarium also offers Open Sea or Kelp Forest live streams.

4. Swim through Palau coral reefs

Travel to the Pacific Ocean through a virtual adventure and see the Palau coral reefs . Hosted by Nature Lab and the Nature Conservancy, this tour teaches students about the importance of preserving some of the most fragile ecosystems in the world — no wetsuit required. 

Take learning to the next level with the Nature Lab’s Teacher’s Guide , which includes discussion questions and related resources to keep learners engaged. 

5. Visit the surface of Mars

It took the Perseverance rover about seven months to get to Mars. But thanks to this virtual tour , you and your students can go for a visit in just one afternoon. 

Created by Google and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this virtual tour takes you through the history of Mars explorations and turns what might be a far-flung topic into something right at students’ fingertips. They’ll explore the surface of Mars, learn more about the rovers that have studied its surface and understand how Mars exploration fits into the history of space travel.

6. Power up with renewable energy

Powering the Planet from the Nature Conservancy is an interactive lesson that focuses on renewable energy sources. It explains to students how energy around them is necessary for life, and covers how energy can be sourced in a way that’s not harmful to the environment.

All the Nature Conservancy’s programs come with a Teacher Guide , which offers lesson plans and activities relating to the virtual tour. 

7. Walk the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is over 13,000 miles long, so be sure to pack your walking shoes for this trip!

This virtual tour lets students explore key points in the Great Wall of China, plus see the history and amazing view up close.

8. Float around the International Space Station

Did you know that astronauts have continuously inhabited the International Space Station for 20 years? Now your class can join them!

With tours of the different parts of the space station, facts about the layout and assembly, and information about the different astronauts who’ve visited from around the world, students can get an out-of-this-world experience from the comfort of their home or classroom. 

Plus, there are plenty of images, videos, graphics and media resources to help you tie topics into your curriculum.

9. Scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is a delicate ecosystem especially vulnerable to the effects of pollution and climate change. 

David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef is a tour created in partnership with the Natural History Museum in London that teaches everyone about the beauty and fragility of one of the world’s greatest natural wonders. 

The Great Barrier Reef is also available on Google Street View through Google Maps as one of the first underwater locations to be mapped. 

10. Learn about water and Colombia’s páramo ecosystem

Just outside of Bogotá, Columbia, is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. In this virtual lesson, students will learn about how the water cycle plays a vital role in biodiversity, and get an up-close look at the animals that call the area home. 

Use the accompanying Teacher Guide to help students discuss the topic and stay engaged with the lesson. And check out the rest of the Nature Lab's YouTube channel for even more virtual experiences.

11. Tour the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

The Smithsonian Institute is the world’s largest museum — so there are plenty of things for students to explore. 

With a variety of virtual tours to choose from, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History is full of ways to get students excited about learning. Students can watch narrated tours of different exhibits ranging from history and geography to the research stations in the museum. 

Whether students want to walk through the museum on their own or let someone else do the talking, there’s something for every lesson.

12. Get caught up in the American Revolution

History meets the present at the Museum of the American Revolution ! 

This virtual tour lets students see artifacts, meet museum staff and hear stories of real people who fought for American independence.

It also comes with a Classroom Ki t for 2nd to 8th grade that supplements learning and makes it even more meaningful. 

13. Trek up Mt. Everest

This 360 degree video from National Geographic lets students explore Mt. Everest along with a group of researchers. Together, they’ll discover what kind of effects climate change has on the mountain, and how we can work to preserve natural landscapes. 

Not up for climbing mountains? Take a virtual ride on Expedition Everest , the tallest rollercoaster in any Disney park! But beware — there’s a monster lurking in the dark.

14. Get the right angle with Explore Geometry

Powered by Nearpod, Explore Geometry ’s lesson plans connect classroom lessons with architecture in the natural world.

Students can explore the gardens of Versailles to learn about the geometry of a French garden before moving on to the next lesson and putting their skills to practical use.

15. Wander through the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City

One of the most well-known museums in the world, students can now explore The Met’s vast collections with the Met 360º Project .

Virtual tours help students get a sense of the space, art and collections inside of the museum. Whether they’re interested in the Met Cloisters or the Arms and Armor gallery, students can go at their own pace, accompanied by a soothing soundtrack. 

You can also book virtual tours with a museum guide to line up with your lesson plan. Tours are free for NYC public schools and all Title I schools, and $200 USD per class for other schools.

16. Explore history in the British Museum

Another world-class museum, students can explore the British Museum in London using Google Street View, read facts about the artifacts and connect what they see to their history lessons. 

Whether it’s the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, Egyptian sculpture or any other historical treasure, there’s something every student will find interesting!

If you want to let someone else do the exploring, there’s also a 46-minute virtual walking tour , where you can skip to the sections that are most relevant to you and your class. 

17. Visit the White House

In Washington, D.C. the White House is the symbolic heart of America, and now students can walk the halls for themselves. 

Whether they want to take a lap around the Oval Office or wander the building, students can explore this virtual tour from the White House Historical Association . Plus, it comes with class tie-ins like vocabulary lessons and other activities to make the experience even more memorable! 

18. Arrive at Ellis Island

Ever wonder what it was like for new immigrants to see the Statue of Liberty and step foot on American soil for the first time?

Now students can experience it for themselves with this virtual tour , a collaboration between Scholastic and the National Park Service. They’ll learn the importance of immigration in the history of the United States and hear real-life stories about the people who came looking for a better life. 

After students watch the video, they can click through this interactive map with facts and stories about the people who came through Ellis Island. 

19. Explore China's forests

In this online tour, students can explore the natural habitats of pandas in the forests of China . They’ll discover how the panda’s home plays a role in understanding our world, learn about local conservation efforts and see the big-picture view of how these vast forests fit into our understanding of nature and climate change. 

Plus, this program also comes with a handy Teacher Guide for you to use in lesson planning!

20. Bundle up in the Arctic tundra

Take a virtual field trip all the way up north to the tundra! Discovery Education’s tundra programs for elementary, middle and high school students cover the natural habitat of polar bears, plus their activities and migration patterns.

This virtual tour comes with instructional activities and classroom tie-ins, so you can be sure students are getting a productive learning experience.

21. Go spelunking in the world's largest cave

Travel through Vietnam’s Son Doong, the world’s largest cave . First explored by researchers in 2009, this cave is up to 200 meters tall in some areas and even has its own jungle inside. 

It’s estimated that the total length of the cave system is over 200 kilometers, and with this National Geographic tour students can explore to their heart’s content. High definition pictures and helpful facts mean that not only is this an awe-inspiring trip for students, but it’s also educational! 

Because the cave is ecologically sensitive, only a certain number of tourists are allowed to visit each year. This virtual tour is a great way for kids and adults to experience the wonder up close!

22. Browse the Louvre

Take your students on a quick trip to Paris where you can explore the architecture and art of the Louvre without the crowds. 

Plus, the Louvre also offers Louvre Kids , as well as a Mona Lisa Beyond the Glass virtual app experience where users can learn how Leonardo da Vinci created his most well-known masterpiece.

From kindergarten to high school, virtual field trips are a great way to get students excited about learning. And if you’re homeschooling , they’re the perfect way to get real-world experience without leaving the house!

To get the most out of the experience, keep these tips in mind:

• Ask students what they’re interested in exploring 
• Look for virtual experiences that fit into your lesson plan for maximum impact
• Search for supplementary resources like teacher guides and discussion questions
• Try out the virtual tour first to make sure it’s worth it and to avoid any unpleasant technical glitches
• Use virtual field trips at the beginning of a unit to introduce students to new concepts, or at the end as a reward and wrap-up activity

Be sure to follow up with students and see what they liked the most. Then, harness that excitement for your next lesson or activity! 

Prodigy Math Game is an adaptive math platform where students can explore a world filled with adventure, excitement and rewards — all for practicing math! While they’re having a blast answering questions and completing epic quests, Prodigy’s free teacher tools help you align their learning to your classroom lessons. 

Sign up for your free teacher account today!

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How To Plan A Summer Math Field Trip

Summer is here at last! For many American families, it’s time to hit the road. Planning a trip can seem like a burden, but with a little creativity, you can turn it into a fun activity that introduces practical math skills to your children along the way. From calculating travel distances and budgeting expenses to designing kid-friendly itineraries and maximizing fun, we’ll explore how mathematical principles can transform the chaos of trip planning into a smooth and enjoyable process for the whole family. Consider it a math field trip !

Whether you have little ones, kids in middle school, or high school students, planning a summer math field trip using math concepts can be both educational and fun! Here are some of our favorite math activities to explore before and during your next vacation:

Destination Selection

Start by discussing potential destinations with your kids. Consider factors like distance, attractions, and budget. Create a list of possible destinations and have your kids research them. They can gather information on travel costs, accommodation expenses, and activities available at each location.

Budgeting for a math field trip

Introduce the concept of budgeting to your kids. Explain that a budget is a plan for how to spend money. Use simple math to calculate the total estimated cost of the math field trip . This can include transportation, accommodation, meals, and activities. Have your kids compare the costs of different destinations and decide which one fits within your budget.

Transportation

If you’re traveling by car, involve your kids in planning the route of the math field trip . They can use maps to calculate distances and estimate travel time. Every map features a key that tells you how many miles an inch represents. Trace roads using string or a shoelace, then measure. 

Let’s say that each inch represents 10 miles. For younger kids, you can count how many miles there are between points A and B using addition: three inches is 10 + 10 + 10. For older or more advanced students, use multiplication. Once you have a total distance, you can do a lot of planning and problem-solving. 

If you’re flying, help your kids understand concepts like flight duration, time zones, and layovers. They can practice addition and subtraction by calculating the total travel time of the math field trip .

Are We There Yet?

Make time for fun pit stops! Planning for adequate snack breaks and sightseeing makes traveling fun, but it does take time. An hour or less can be the difference between open roads and rush hour traffic. Determine distances to and from off-highway destinations, and compare that to local speed limits to get a better idea. Kids can also problem-solve to help figure out what time is best to leave to arrive on schedule.

Fill ‘Er Up

Keep your math field trip under budget by calculating roughly how much gas you’ll need (and researching where to fill up!) Say your tank holds 300 miles worth of gas in a 16-gallon tank that costs $40 to fill at $2.50 per gallon. How much do you save by stopping on the state line, where gas is $2.25 per gallon? Challenge your child to determine the best way to problem solve—multiplication, division, or a combined approach. Use local gas station trackers online to find the best deal in the towns where you stop.

Accommodation

Research different accommodation options together, such as hotels, vacation rentals, or camping sites. Compare prices and amenities, and calculate the total cost based on the number of nights you plan to stay.

Activities for the math field trip

Make a list of activities you’d like to do on your math field trip . This could include visiting museums, going to amusement parks, or exploring nature trails. Use math to plan your itinerary. If you’re visiting multiple attractions, calculate how much time you’ll need at each one and how long it will take to travel between them.

Practice math skills while packing by estimating quantities. Have your kids calculate how many days you’ll be gone and how many pairs of socks or shirts they’ll need to pack. You can also introduce concepts like weight and volume by asking them to estimate how much their suitcase will weigh or how many items will fit inside.

Review and Adjust

Once you’ve planned your math field trip , review the itinerary and budget with your kids. Encourage them to ask questions and suggest any adjustments. Use this as an opportunity to reinforce math concepts by discussing how changes to the plan can affect the overall cost or schedule.

If the kids become restless on the drive, you can always revert to one of our favorite traveling games . There’s nothing like a little distraction and competition to pass the time! Looking for indoor math activities to do once you arrive at your destination to continue the math field trip fun? Here are five that we love . Or, maybe you plan to spend your time outside by the water? These beach-friendly math games are not to be missed! By involving your kids in the planning process and incorporating math into each step, you can make learning fun while preparing for an exciting summer math field trip adventure!

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5 Places to Take Your Class for a Math-themed Trip

Mathematics is often one of the most difficult subjects for students to master. Educators need to find ways to help students understand the importance of mathematics in daily life. This can motivate students because they begin to see how it applies to real-life situations. It can start to live for them outside the classroom instead of being an abstract subject that holds no interest to them. Here are some places to take a class for a math-themed trip.

1. Bletchley Park in England 

For two years running, Bletchley Park in England was named “Best Venue for Maths Learning” by School Travel Awards. It was the country house and estate where top codebreakers operated in secret during World War Two. 

Students can go on a guided tour of the facility, which was the birthplace of modern information technology. They can also take part in interactive workshops on many different topics. One of the workshops is about the role of code breakers in the war. Students will be fascinated by their brilliance and how much they contributed to the war effort. 

Math problems and answers

Taking mathematics trips can motivate students and help them to develop a love of mathematics. Once they have that enthusiasm, they will have more incentive to practice. Plainmath is a platform that helps students to understand how to solve math problems. It provides accessible sample problems and answers. For example, students can find calculus 2 problems and answers so they can see whether they are correct in their approach to finding solutions. Online math answers prove to be of great help to students who need additional help in this subject.

2. Museums in Italy

A visit to Florence in Italy will give students an insight into the development of the scientific method. During the Renaissance, there was an emphasis on mathematics and empirical evidence. Mathematicians like Galileo and Leonardo Da Vinci were celebrated. There are museums in Florence honoring these two amazing mathematicians. They give students the chance to see inventions and historical equipment. 

The Garden of Archimedes also helps students to understand mathematics. This museum has interactive exhibits that help to bring maths to life. A visit to math museums can help to show students the infinite possibilities that mathematics can open up. 

3. National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in New York

This museum in New York highlights innovative exhibits and programs designed to spark curiosity in people of all ages. The main purpose of this museum isn’t to explain complex math formulas. It demonstrates what can be achieved through math in an interactive way. For example, the Tessellation Station allows students to construct their own displays. 

From interacting with robots to making fractal trees in their own image, students can have fun and learn at the same time. One of the most famous exhibits is a tricycle with square wheels on which it’s possible to experience a smooth ride. Math Flash gives an insight into contemporary advances in math. Twisted Thruway gives a tour of a Mobius strip, and Motionscape offers an experience of velocity and acceleration. 

4. Legoland, Windsor Resort

Legoland is the perfect place to spend an engaging field trip. There are multiple workshops to choose from that are designed to bring math to life outside of the classroom. They encourage problem-solving, communication, collaboration and critical thinking. 

The LEGO Robotics Space Challenge workshop offers students a series of space challenges to help develop their problem-solving skills. In another workshop, students can build a LEGO merry-go-round to explore gear ratios and experiment with gear trains to see which combination enables the ride to spin fastest. 

5. Mathematikum, Giessen, Germany

This museum offers hands-on interaction with over 170 math-related exhibits. On three floors of exhibits , students can make music, build bridges, embody the golden ratio and much more. The museum relies on sensory experiences to make sense of the ideas that underpin key math insights. Through all kinds of experiments and puzzles, students can gain insight into complex math concepts. They can explore the properties of soap while standing inside a giant soap bubble and experience pi spatially. 

Field trips outside of the classroom can help students to see mathematics in a whole new light. They can explore, discover and have fun with math concepts and problems in a real-world context. Fostering enthusiasm for math is particularly useful when math becomes more abstract for students. When they see the real-life application of complex concepts, they start to make more sense. This can give students the motivation they need to work hard at math inside the classroom. 

Author’s Bio

Connie Elser works as a textbook writer, blogger and essay writer. She’s got some charming style of writing that her work always ranks high when it’s about book sales or blog ranking in search engines. She gained this experience through some popular writing mentors. She’s currently developing the plot of her book on the state of education in South Asian countries. 

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Out of Your Comfort Zone

The art of backpacking & adventures to get out of your comfort zone – tips and advice, 5 places to visit with your class for a math-themed trip.

Last Updated on July 12, 2024 by Lohanna Reis

Mathematics is one of the subjects studied in school that is considered the most challenging by many students. Indeed, it is a complex subject that only builds upon previous math knowledge and if you do not have solid basic knowledge, it is easy to find yourself lost and overwhelmed by the problems and exercises you have to complete.  

As an educator, you know this too well. You have probably seen so many students that are stressed by math but you also understand the utter importance of having basic math knowledge. Math is the basis of everything.  

It can sometimes turn out to be challenging, but students can get Plain math help in a really surprising way by having familiarized with the literature reviewed on the site, examples of solutions to various mathematical problems. Even though you might not use complex math concepts in every career, they all need math knowledge.  

Business, finance, computer science, technology development, and even fields that are humane such as psychology or sociology need math. Math is present in music but in art too and it comes with the proportions that create beauty and incredible works of art.  

So, as an educator who understands too well the importance of math, you are probably thinking about ways you can instill a passion for math in your students. Of course, not all will like math, but it is essential to just relieve a part of the math anxiety they might feel. Math can be taught not only in class but outside class too. And you can encourage your students to learn more about math concepts by organizing mathematics trips. You can start with a science tour or math field trips, but either way, you need to offer your students the possibility of discovering math outside the traditional educational setting too.  

If you have decided to organize a math-themed trip , then you might have already started looking for places to visit with the class. In fact, there are a few of them that will help you introduce your students to the amazing world of math and science and develop their affection for math. Here are some of the places you should consider for your math-themed trip.  

   1. National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) New York  

This is one of the most amazing museums you can take your class to. Math is a complex subject and not all students love it. They might not be open to visiting places or museums about math, but this is not an ordinary one. It is a museum that could help you instill a passion for math in your students and that can foster math learning.  

As they will not see here formulas or anything like this, but how math is present in our lives and how it helped us evolve and discover new things. It is about learning math in an interactive way and it can turn out to be a really nice experience for the whole class. Students can discover the Tessellation Station, where they can easily build their own patterns and displays. On top of this, they can interact with robots and make their own fractal systems, which is a great introduction to the world of math and science.  

Many students fail to understand the utter importance math has in our lives. They see it only as complex formulas and geometric shapes, but math is present in science too, for example. It is present in physics, chemistry, and biology and they will discover anything about this during this trip.  

They can even have the experience of riding a tricycle or just learn about acceleration and velocity. Math is everywhere and it helps us evolve tremendously. It is the basis of all discoveries and inventions and the National Museum of Mathematics in New York helps you, as an educator, send this idea to your students.  

   2. Legoland, Windsor Resort  

This could turn out to be a really engaging field trip for your class. Math is not only about formulas. Students mostly see only this. But math helps you develop your critical thinking and spatial reasoning, and it boosts decision-making skills.  

At Legoland, there are a lot of workshops you can encourage your students to be part of. They can build trains, and cars, but also huge buildings. This is a nice way to make your students love math, especially as it is a funny and interactive way to do it.  

Building things with Lego pieces has always been a nice way to relax. And when you are relaxed, you are more open to other ideas and you learn faster. So, this is another place you can go to for your math-themed trip with the whole class to help them improve their math-related skills. Skills that will be essential and helpful not only in math classes but others too.  

And in their future career and personal life too. Decision-making, spatial reasoning, and analytical skills are just a few of the life skills people need to succeed. And if students can boost them while they are having fun, they will start understanding the importance of math in everyday life.  

   3. The Royal Observatory, Greenwich  

Astronomy is a fascinating science that catches the attention of everyone, especially students. Discovering new planets and stars or just how the Earth works are just a few of the things your class will learn during a visit to The Royal Observatory in Greenwich .  

They also organize all kinds of workshops that introduce students to the secrets of astronomy, which would have not been possible without math. Many of these workshops can be organized for school trips at your request, so it would be a nice idea to have some options for your class when you pay them a visit.  

   4. Bank of England Museum, London 

As mentioned above, math is present in every field and domain. Students mostly see it as a boring class they do not like, but they need basic math knowledge in their careers and personal life, no matter their choices. Math plays a key role in finance and as adults, they will need to know how to manage their finances.  

The Bank of England Museum in London has free entry for everyone, so this would be a really nice place to go for your math-themed trip with the whole class. They have a lot of activities and workshops that help students understand more about how banks work. But it is also a nice trip and activity that could teach them the value of money as they will need to be financially stable in their adult life.  

   5. The Garden of Archimedes, Florence  

The Garden of Archimedes in Florence is a mathematics museum whose aim is to increase people’s understanding of mathematics. Not all have a good perception of it but it played and still plays a key role in human evolution. What you should know about this museum is that it has been compared with the National Museum of Mathematics in New York, which is the only museum dedicated to math in the United States of America.  

Math comes up with infinite possibilities, so it is crucial for students to understand this and assess the positive benefits of learning math. The Garden of Archimedes is a museum that has many sections that are suited for adults and children and that help them discover the value of math.  

For example, you can visit the Beyond Compasses section where you can all explore how math is concealed in objects you use in your daily life. There is another section that helps students understand the value of the Pythagorean theorem through interactive puzzles and games.  

They can also discover more about the history of math and some of the most well-known mathematicians, such as Leonardo Fibonacci. There are a lot of fascinating sections you can visit where the whole class can delve more into captivating topics such as pink numbers, mechanics, and many more. 

Final Thoughts  

Math is not a subject many students love. In fact, math anxiety has hit an all-time high, as students feel stressed and overwhelmed by all the complex problems and theorems they need to learn. But learning math comes with a lot of benefits.  

It helps students boost their problem-solving, decision-making, reasoning, and analytical skills tremendously, skills that are essential for their future careers too. A math-themed class would help you introduce students to the fascinating universe of math and these are some of the places you should add to your list. 

Planning your next trip?

 Already reserved your hotel or hostel? If not, our article with The 6 Best and Cheapest Websites to Find & Reserve Accommodation can help you out. You’ll also find some promotions and discount codes .

 Still haven’t booked your plane ticket and want to save big? Take a look at our page with 16 Tips to Save on Flights where you’ll also find the 4 best websites to buy your plane tickets. 

And finally, will you need to rent a car during your trip? Then surely our page with The 5 Best and Cheapest Websites to Compare and Rent Cars Around the World will help you choose the best rental car and find a good deal.

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Math Field Trips: Learning Beyond the Classroom 

by Deepthi | Sep 13, 2023 | Fun Math | 0 comments

Have you ever considered taking your students or children on a math field trip?  

If the idea of combining the words “math” and “field trip” seems unusual to you, it’s time to think again. In this article, we will explore the exciting world of math field trips and why they can be a fun and enriching way to enhance math learning. So, if you’re looking for a unique and engaging approach to teach math concepts, keep reading! 

Table of Contents

1. what is a math field trip and why is it worth it .

M ath field trip s are educational excursions that take students outside of the classroom to explore mathematical concepts in real-world settings. This unconventional approach to learning math can be an exciting and enriching experience for students of all ages, from middle school to high school. But why is it worth considering? 

Math field trips offer several advantages:  

• Hands-On Learning:  Unlike traditional classroom learning, math field trips provide hands-on experiences where students can touch, see, and interact with math concepts and problems. 
• Making Math Fun :  Field trips are inherently fun, and when you combine them with math, learning becomes an adventure. It helps students see that math can be enjoyable and engaging. 
• Connecting Subjects:  Field trips show students how math is used in various fields, helping them connect math concepts to real-world applications. 
• Motivated Learning:  Students are often more motivated as they learn in a new and exciting environment. It breaks the monotony of a typical school day. 

2. Where to Go: Choosing the Perfect Math Museum 

When planning a math field trip, one of the key decisions is selecting the right destination. Luckily, there are museums across the world that focus on mathematics and provide an ideal setting for learning. Here are some points to consider when choosing a math museum: 

• National Museum of Mathematics:  Located in New York City, this museum offers a wide range of interactive exhibits and activities that cater to various age groups. 
• Planetariums:  Some planetariums incorporate math-themed shows that explore topics like geometry and fractals. 
• Local Science Centers:  Many science centers have math exhibits that are both educational and entertaining. 
• Online Math Exhibits:  In today’s digital age, some museums offer online math exhibits, allowing students to explore mathematical concepts virtually. 

3. Exploring the Math Exhibits: Hands-On Learning at Its Best 

Once you’ve chosen the destination, it’s time to dive into the math exhibits. These exhibits are designed to take abstract math concepts and make them tangible. Students can manipulate objects, engage with interactive displays, and solve puzzles, all while learning math in a fun and immersive way. 

For instance, a museum might have an exhibit that demonstrates fractals, where students can see how these complex geometric patterns are created. This hands-on experience makes concepts like fractals much more accessible and memorable. 

4. Calculating the Benefits of Free Math Field Trips 

Financial constraints can sometimes be a concern when planning field trips, but there are options for free math field trips. Some museums offer free admission on certain days or have programs designed for schools. Additionally, you can explore opportunities for funding through grants or local organizations. 

Don’t let cost be a barrier to providing your students with this enriching experience. The benefits of a math field trip far outweigh the expenses, as they offer a unique learning environment that can’t be replicated in the classroom. 

5. Math Field Trips for Homeschooling: Taking Learning Beyond the Books 

Math field trips are not limited to traditional school settings. Homeschooling families can also benefit from this approach to learning. In fact, field trips can be a fantastic way to break up the routine of homeschooling and provide real-world context for math concepts. 

Homeschoolers can plan their math field trips to align with their curriculum. It’s an opportunity to show children that math isn’t confined to textbooks; it’s a part of everyday life. 

6. Making Math Fun: Turning a School Day into an Adventure 

For educators, organizing a math field trip can be a memorable way to start the school year. Instead of beginning with traditional classroom lessons, consider taking your students on a math adventure. It’s a great way to build enthusiasm for math from day one. 

The anticipation of a field trip adds an element of excitement to the back-to-school experience, and students are likely to remember it for a long time. 

7. Bringing Math Concepts to Life: The Magic of Math Exhibits 

Mathematics can sometimes seem abstract and disconnected from the real world. However, a well-structured math field trip can bridge this gap by demonstrating how math concepts are applied in practical settings. 

Whether it’s exploring the geometry of architectural designs or understanding the mathematics behind the height of a building, students can witness firsthand how math is an integral part of our daily lives. 

8. From Geometry to Fractals: Discovering the Mathematical World 

Math field trips often cover a broad spectrum of mathematical topics. From the simplicity of basic geometry to the complexity of fractals, students get a taste of the diverse world of mathematics. 

These experiences can ignite curiosity and inspire students to explore mathematical concepts further, both inside and outside of the classroom. 

9. Chaperoning a Math Field Trip: A Guide for Parents and Teachers 

Chaperoning a math field trip can be a rewarding experience for parents and teachers alike. It allows you to engage with students in a different setting and offer support and guidance as they explore math concepts. 

Remember to be prepared, stay organized, and encourage active participation. Chaperones play a crucial role in ensuring that the trip is both educational and enjoyable. 

10. The Impact of Math Field Trips: Real-World Math Skills 

In the end, the impact of a math field trip goes beyond just a day of fun and exploration. It helps students develop real-world math skills that are essential for their future. 

By witnessing how math is used in various industries and settings, students gain a deeper appreciation for the subject and are more likely to excel in their studies. They learn to connect the subjects they learn in school to the real world, making their education more meaningful and relevant. 

Conclusion 

Incorporating math field trips into your educational strategy can have a profound impact on how students perceive and engage with mathematics. These excursions offer a unique learning environment where math becomes more than just numbers and equations; it becomes a tangible, real-world experience. 

So, if you’re looking to bring math to life, spark curiosity, and help students see the beauty and practicality of mathematics, consider planning a math field trip. It’s an investment in their education that will yield lifelong benefits. 

What is a math field trip?

A math field trip is an educational excursion that takes students outside the classroom to explore mathematical concepts.

Why are math field trips important?

Math field trips offer hands-on learning experiences, make math more engaging, help students connect theoretical concepts to real-world applications, and enhance motivation for learning. 

What are some suitable destinations for math field trips?

Suitable destinations include math-focused museums like the National Museum of Mathematics , planetariums with math-themed shows, local science centers, and even online math exhibits. 

How do math exhibits make learning hands-on?

Math exhibits allow students to interact with physical objects, engage with interactive displays, solve puzzles, and manipulate objects, turning abstract math concepts into tangible learning experiences. 

Are there benefits to free math field trips?

Absolutely. Free math field trips offer an affordable option to expose students to unique learning environments, helping them see the practical and enjoyable aspects of math. 

Can homeschooling families benefit from math field trips?

Definitely. Math field trips provide homeschooling families with a chance to break away from traditional learning methods and show children that math is part of everyday life.

How can math field trips make the start of the school year exciting?

Organizing a math field trip at the beginning of the school year adds an element of excitement and adventure, setting a positive tone for learning math. 

How do math field trips bridge the gap between theoretical math and real life?

Math field trips demonstrate how math concepts are applied in practical settings, like architectural designs and building heights, helping students understand the real-world relevance of math.

What mathematical topics are covered in math field trips?

Math field trips cover a wide range of topics, from basic geometry to intricate concepts like fractals, giving students a taste of the diverse world of mathematics. 

How can parents and teachers effectively chaperone a math field trip?

Chaperones should be prepared, organized, and engaged. Encourage students’ active participation, offer support in understanding exhibits, and ensure a safe and educational experience. 

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Brighten your children's day with a fun field trip!

Fun & games field trip preschool – 5th grade.

Fun Wise® Math brings engaging games to your child’s school or organization to make learning math FUN.  Numbers, counting, patterns, geometry and early arithmetic come to life through fun, active games that increases retention of math facts, builds confidence, and sparks creativity.

Math Mindfulness® Field Trip 6th -12th grade

Be Mindful. Notice Math in our daily lives.   This fun interactive hands-on field trip increases awareness of how important math is for everything we do. Career exploration and Math myth busting are topics discussed in this creative program. The Fun Wise® Math methodology brings learning to life through interactive experiences and Math Mindfulness® Questions.

Bring a field trip to your children’s school or organization. Complete the contact form to get started and your children will discover the love of math.

Benefits of a fun math field trip.

Fun Wise® Math field trips are online or onsite in Tampa, Florida , at your location saving time and money. You provide the space and we provide the experienced educators and long-lasting memories for your kids.

Fun educational program that exercises minds and bodies through creative interactive games. Kids experience math in a totally new way sparking new ideas and interest.

Give kids a break from over stressed standardized tests with a fun educational field trip . Take a break from the pressures of math testing with a fun experience that helps kids enjoy math through fun games. (All Fun Wise® Math programs align with National and State Standards.)

Embedded Professional Development for teachers to learn new innovative techniques for bringing math to life in the classroom or fun brain breaks.

Fun Wise® Math Field Trips FAQs

How long is the field trip.

Generally, the Fun Wise® Math onsite field trips are 45 to 60 minute sessions depending on the age of the students.  Longer programs or multiple sessions in a row can be booked to accommodate a larger number of students.

Online field trips are from 30 minutes to one hour sessions depending on the ages of the students. It is recommended for a teacher or moderator to participate too for any technical issues or to manage muting.

How many students can participate in the field trip?

For onsite field trips, it is recommended to have a minimum of 10 students and maximum of 20 per session for the Fun & Games field trip.  The Math Mindfulness® field trip is recommended to have a minimum of 10 and maximum of 25 per session.  Multiple sessions can be scheduled in a row with short breaks in-between leaving time for students to come and go between the sessions and sanitizing.

For online field trips, it is recommended to have a minimum of 10 students and maximum of 20 per session for the Fun & Games field trip.  The Math Mindfulness® field trip is recommended to have a minimum of 10 and maximum of 25 per session.  Multiple sessions can be scheduled in a row with short breaks in-between.

What is the cost of a field trip?

The cost per student can vary depending on the number of students participating, time of year, and the number of sessions booked on the same day at the same location (online or onsite in Tampa).

What type of space is needed for an onsite field trip?

The Fun & Games field trip prefers an indoor open space similar to a multi-purpose room, common area, or gym.

The Math Mindfulness® field trip may be held in a large classroom, library, auditorium, or a multi-purpose room.

Why field trips are beneficial?

The Fun Wise® Math field trip is beneficial by exposing your child to math in a new way.  Creative interactive experiences bring math to life sparking a new interest in math or reinforcing the math concepts from current classes.  Our goal is also to spark ideas for teachers on how they can use games as brain breaks or teaching techniques in class.

How can we help your children succeed? Just ask us.

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The Math All Around Us

A middle school math teacher on how to make real-world math connections during field trips and interdisciplinary projects.

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The math team at my school never lets an activity or event—from morning assemblies to field trips—pass without highlighting important or interesting mathematical connections. Few if any of these events were intended to serve the math curriculum, but we find ways to make it work.

Morning assemblies, for example, can be a good time for a continuing program of quick creativity boosters . There are many possible themes: Important Historical Problems and Their Current Applications, Logic Puzzles and Riddles, and Counterintuitive Problems.

A program like this can be run by a group of teachers or students. If your school has one, your Math Club can select the problems, or the winners of one round can be asked to present the next problem. In short, this can be as fun and creative as the people envisioning it.

We also try to integrate some mathematics in field trips the students take for other subject areas. For example, a trip to an aquarium can incorporate estimation problems regarding the size of a particular pool, the amount of money made by the aquarium per day in ticket sales, and the ratios between the (linear) dimensions of various animals. A trip to an art museum is a chance to ask students to recognize and name 2D and 3D figures in different parts of the building and in paintings, to calculate surface areas and volumes, and so on.

Combining Math With Other Content Areas

My school has another very important way to make mathematical connections to other content: We set aside time each year for students to focus on a particular topic and draw connections between various subjects, using the resources we have in the school and in the surrounding area. Often driven by the language arts or social studies curriculum, these days are experiences that are intended to deepen students’ understanding of a topic—they are open-ended and can be highly interdisciplinary.

Although not all schools set aside time this way, you may be able to work with a teacher or teachers in different subjects to give students an interdisciplinary view of a topic. In this kind of inquiry-based, integrative work, the students may listen to a speaker or watch a video or take a field trip to frame the essential question and then, working in groups, follow a series of rotations that tackle the issue from different angles.

In our school, each rotation takes one class period—50 to 60 minutes—but the lengths of the lessons discussed here can be adjusted to whatever schedule works for your school and your team. The mathematical content of these lessons is very rich and not usually studied in the regular curriculum because these are mostly topics of discrete mathematics, so you can create and use conceptual material and activities and adjust your goals to fit the time available.

When we organize these interdisciplinary events at my school, we make sure there’s always a math-centered rotation. For example, during a day of studies about civil rights, we talked about various voting systems. Students were fascinated to learn that there are several, and that none are perfect—see Arrow’s impossibility theorem . In the same lesson, they played the Redistricting Game , which explores how changes to electoral maps can impact the outcomes of elections.

As part of an interdisciplinary exercise on indigenous Central and South American civilizations, we studied the Mayan and Aztec numerical systems to gain a deeper understanding of the Hindu-Arabic number system that we use, and then moved on to look at the binary system used in computers.

And on a day devoted to the Golden Age of Islam, we learned how quadratic equations were approached historically, and solved by Arab mathematicians by generalizing the completing-the-square method. After representing the method analytically and geometrically, we figured out how the quadratic formula came to be, which gave the students a much better grasp of it.

Our next interdisciplinary exercise will be based on the documentary  Promises as the students are studying the Middle East—the film is about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The history teachers will underline the topics of community building, land distribution, conflict resolution, biases, and segregation. One of the social studies teachers accepted the math team’s suggestion to have students spend part of her rotation playing the Parable of the Polygons , a simple online game that shows how seemingly harmless choices by individuals can lead to institutional bias.

The game is based on the work of Nobel Prize–winning game theorist Thomas Schelling, so the math team will present a lesson on Schelling and John Nash—the subject of the film A Beautiful Mind —and their work on game theory , the Prisoner’s Dilemma , and the evolution of trust .

Promises  documents the intertwined lives of Israeli and Palestinian children, and a social studies teacher and a math teacher will use another rotation to discuss fair division —a topic of discrete mathematics that’s hardly ever taught in the regular school curriculum, even though it’s very useful in real life.

These kinds of interdisciplinary exercises show students in a concrete way that mathematics is a tool they can use to quantitatively understand the world around them.

Field Trips

In the "Mathcamp standard week" at the residential version of Mathcamp, we teach classes Tuesday through Saturday, so the Mathcamp "weekend" is Sunday and Monday. During the weekends throughout camp, the staff (and campers!) organize lots of different field trips. Sundays are for relaxation and small-group outings; major field trips are scheduled for Mondays, to avoid the crowds. All field trips are optional; some campers just stay on campus and take a break (or work on math).

A few examples of field trips we've run in the past few years:

• Whitewater Rafting
• Sea Kayaking
• Visits to nearby cities (e.g. Seattle, Denver, Boston)
• Art Museums
• Fourth of July fireworks (when the holiday overlaps with camp)
• Berry Picking (and subsequent smoothie-making and pie-baking)
• Ice Skating
• Contra Dancing
• Rock Climbing
• Trampolining
• Amusement Parks
• ...and much more!

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Math Field Trips

Discussion in ' Secondary Education ' started by alt edu , Aug 17, 2007 .

alt edu Companion

Aug 17, 2007

I am looking for ideas for math related field trips. My school is an alternative school and we try to reward our students for behavior and academics. Most of the other classes go on a trip almost monthly. I am trying to come up with some math field trips. Some trips from before I was at this school was golf (geometry) and bowling (keeping score). I guess I was just looking for some really cool ones to get the kids excited. THANKS IN ADVANCE!  

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CAMathMom Rookie

I don't have any really cool ideas, but I've done a lot with visits to the grocery store since it's near the school. I've taken up to 20 kids, but don't know how well this would work with more. I've had kids work on budget projects and they test their monthly grocery bill with actual prices in the store. I've found that most of my students have no idea how much groceries cost. My statistics classes have done grocery store statistics projects with hypothesis testing based on shelf location and name brand vs. store brand.  

TeacherGroupie Moderator

Aug 18, 2007

Perhaps you can arrange a field trip to an architectural firm?  

welki New Member

How about taking them geocaching?? Geocaching is done with a GPS- which is a real-life application of 3-dimensional space (latitude, longitude and altitude.) Teach them about map and compass reading, then move on to a GPS. I took my freshmen Algebra 1 students geocaching last year and they loved it. We even set a geocache out behind the school.  

toff Rookie

Where'd you go geocasching? a park?  

becky Enthusiast

We toured a bank about two months ago.We learned how they order the money they need each day, how the vault gets locked at the end of the day and is on a timer. We saw the attic and basement of the bank. The basdement is a bomb shelter, and the attic was the board room back in the early 1900's. My daughter even got to run sets of coins through the counting machine.  

cristib Rookie

There are geocaches EVERYWHERE! Go to geocaching.com and search your area. Yes, they can be found in parks, cemeteries, commercial areas... I love geocaching, and I have been trying to find a way to use the idea in school. I thought about getting a classroom "travel bug" and mapping where it goes. (Travel bugs are tags with tracking numbers you can attach to objects. You place it in a cache, someone picks it up, logs it on the internet and moves it on to another cache.) You can learn all about the sport on the internet. Maybe we should start a "Geocaching in the Classroom" thread!  

Aug 19, 2007

Geocaching can be connnected to graphing, 3-dimensional space, etc. It was a stretch for me to use it with my students, but I found a way to link it to what we were studying. I love geocaching and in talking about it with my students they wanted to try it. They love geocaching, and loved setting one up, checking the posts on it, etc.  

Irishdave Enthusiast

CAMathMom said: I don't have any really cool ideas, but I've done a lot with visits to the grocery store since it's near the school. I've taken up to 20 kids, but don't know how well this would work with more. I've had kids work on budget projects and they test their monthly grocery bill with actual prices in the store. I've found that most of my students have no idea how much groceries cost. My statistics classes have done grocery store statistics projects with hypothesis testing based on shelf location and name brand vs. store brand. Click to expand...

silverspoon65 Enthusiast

Aug 20, 2007

Don't a lot of amusement parks have math and physics programs? I would look into a place that is close to you. When you said geometry, I immediately thought of pool, but can you imagine a kid taking home a permission slip to go to the pool hall? haha.  

Aliceacc Multitudinous

silverspoon65 said: Don't a lot of amusement parks have math and physics programs? I would look into a place that is close to you. When you said geometry, I immediately thought of pool, but can you imagine a kid taking home a permission slip to go to the pool hall? haha. Click to expand...

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All Articles Education Making field trips to museums memorable this school year

Making field trips to museums memorable this school year

Whether you’re focusing on the learning experience, logistics or links to curricula, the Smithsonian has ideas to support field trip planning that make the process a little less daunting, no matter when and where you plan to visit this school year.

By Ashley Naranjo 09/16/24

Astronomy educator Shauna Edson leads students through the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The Space Shuttle Discovery behind them is currently on display at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. In 2012, NASA transferred Discovery to the Smithsonian after a delivery flight over the nation's capital. (National Air and Space Museum)

As the school year begins, educators across the Smithsonian tend to get super excited as the first yellow school bus pulls up to our museums. Field trips offer the potential to connect content from the classroom and apply it in context; they can inspire future career pathways, hone fundamental skills and offer new perspectives on a topic.

Last spring, Phoebe Sherman, an educator at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum , offered the Education Department the following tips for teachers when planning a museum field trip:

• Explore the museum website. Check all of the program offerings, explore the topics covered and pay attention to the targeted age groups. 
• Reach out to the museum. Share your questions and work with the staff to build a customized program that will best serve your students’ needs
• Introduce the museum to your students. Explore materials online together to generate excitement and build context of what they might see and experience when they arrive. 
• Share your expectations. Communicate your goals and expectations with students and chaperones.
• Unleash student curiosity. Allow your students some space to explore on their own.
• Debrief the trip. Once back in the classroom, discuss the students’ experiences to solidify learnings. 
• Keep referencing the trip. Find ways to link new content taught in the classroom back to learnings from the trip.

Sherman is a former classroom teacher and now shares her expertise widely with visiting classrooms from across the country. Having had the chance to join Sherman as she led a group of local kindergartners through the Postal Museum, I noticed the care and thoughtfulness that went into the structure of the program to ensure it was developmentally appropriate, relevant and captured their attention.

On the day of the field trip, we connected at a designated meeting point in the museum lobby and Sherman introduced some key expectations for the young learners. She did so with laminated visuals, seeking input from the students about their own ideas. She previewed the objects they would visit in the exhibition spaces, allowing their anticipation to build. The program was split into multiple connected activities to maintain high engagement, from reading a storybook ( Dear Juno , by Soyung Pak) that previewed themes of the visit to moving through the exhibit spaces and taking in collection objects related to the group’s previous discussions. The students even practiced their own skills in mailing a letter at the museum’s in-house post office. It was all a master class in knowing your audience and the ways they would best connect with the targeted content and skills .The teachers and chaperones, too, received clear pre- and post- instruction and an introduction that likely alleviated any uncertainties about expectations.

As Sherman puts it, “The most powerful field trips find their roots of success back in the classroom with the teacher.” It was important to her that the time and resources the visiting teacher invested in making the field trip a reality translated into a meaningful learning experience for the students.

Sherman is one of hundreds of educators across the Smithsonian who welcome learners to our museums, libraries and the National Zoo each year. In addition to the National Postal Museum, which offers students from grades Pre-K to 12 opportunities to make connections to problem-solving, communications and civic engagement, the Smithsonian has a wide range of experiences to tap in to with your students.

For example:

• The National Museum of Asian Art provides quality field trip programs that deepen students’ understanding of Asian arts and cultures, develop students’ capacity for slow looking, and broaden students’ perspective-taking capacities. Topics for both online and in-person field trips include animals and nature, symbolism in art, celebrations and festivals, and ancient civilizations. For the second year in a row, their museum educators have won the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration’s Pinnacle Award for their accomplishments in creating live, virtual field trips that have high educational value, actively involve learners at their level and are professionally delivered.
• The National Museum of Natural History offers field trips for schools, plus homeschool-specific offerings. Students in grades K-2 can visit the museum and focus on animal adaptations, or classifying shells; while students in grades 3-5 can identify minerals or explore insect survival—among a wide menu of options. Secondary students take on hands-on investigations that put the learners in the role of the museum’s scientists, such as studying real 66-million-year-old microfossils and reconstructing past ecosystems, or observing and analyzing images of plates with the organisms that live in the ocean to better understand human impact on coral reefs. Sign-ups for online programming are also available, with limited free spots opening approximately two months in advance.
• The National Air and Space Museum has two locations offering field trips for student groups—including one of the most visited museums in the world at the iconic National Mall building, plus a museum filled with thousands of space and aviation artifacts in two large hangars at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. In addition to guided tours, students can experience the museum through engaging offerings such as science demonstrations and story times. Online programs offered by the museum include virtual planetarium shows and the museum’s Emmy-nominated program for middle school students, STEM in 30 . New monthly episodes are released, featuring hands-on activities, explanations of aviation and space topics aligned with national standards, and interviews with experts.

While some Smithsonian museums don’t specifically offer facilitated field trips or student visits at the moment, museums like the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden offer suggestions and tips for pre-visit lessons, as well as exhibition guides that encourage students to think critically, look closely and draw creatively through conversation, activities and reflection. 

If you live outside of the Washington, D.C. area, you may already know that the Smithsonian is not solely based in our nation’s capital, but in fact, has research centers and museums in other cities too. 

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md., offers unique on-site school programs that focus on Chesapeake Bay biodiversity and the science of the Smithsonian. Students take on the role of scientists, using similar sampling techniques and methods to learn about life in the Bay and their connection to that life.

In addition to the museum on the National Mall, the National Museum of the American Indian has a second location based in New York City. Students ages 10 and up can enjoy the interactive imagiNATIONS Activity Center , a lively space to explore scientific principles behind Native innovations and technologies that are so ingenious many remain a part of our daily lives. One of the key takeaways of the space is that Indigenous people are the original innovators of the Americas.

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is also based in New York City. Cooper Hewitt welcomes K-12 classes to experience design at the museum. Their field trips explore how design shapes and reflects our everyday lives. In the 2024-25 school year, students will be led by a Cooper Hewitt educator on a visit to the exhibition, “ Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial ,” followed by a hands-on activity that immerses them in the design making process. Design Field Trips are tailored to meet the needs of students in every stage of their learning journey. Each track has been developed to meet national and New York State Standards and is aligned with the Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education framework. 

The Smithsonian also has a network of over 200 museums and organizations nationwide as part of the Smithsonian Affiliations program. What field trip offerings are hosted by your local museum spaces? Museums such as the Durham Museum in Omaha, Neb., produce Museum Live! and other engaging virtual field trip offerings. Each week, during the school year, Museum Live! brings 30 minutes of an interactive, broadcast-style show to classrooms nationwide. The program includes segments featuring guest speakers from the Smithsonian network, a behind-the-scenes look at museum exhibits and artifacts, cultural connections to the community, and current events. 

Of course, museum field trips are not solely limited to teachers and students. Out-of-school time groups can also find inspiration in museum spaces. Boys & Girls Clubs of America teens from across the country visit the Smithsonian during their Summit for America’s Youth, an annual youth advocacy event held in Washington, D.C., to make connections between historical case studies of changemakers and their own role in becoming civically engaged around the issues they care about most. 

No matter how you decide to engage your students in museum learning this school year, we recommend referring back to Sherman’s tips as you plan the experience. While postal history or design might not be topics that first come to mind, museum educators take on the integral role of bridging content from our collections and exhibitions to align to subject areas and skills that will engage students and offer unique hooks into a topic. Remember too, effective field trips can come in many forms–from facilitated to self-guided, from onsite to online, from hands-on to discussion-based. 

A full listing of Smithsonian spaces and field trip opportunities is available at the Smithsonian website . 

Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.

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Tarte Cosmetics Faces Backlash Again for Lavish Influencer Gifts, Though Brand Says 'This Is a Misunderstanding'

Tarte Cosmetics' PR packages are going viral after some influencers received Hermès bracelets and others received snacks

alexisoakleyy/TikTok; laurenwolfe/TikTok

Tarte Cosmetics ' PR packages are going viral on TikTok after several influencers posted the very different gifts they received from the brand.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, New York-based influencer Halley Kate shared in a TikTok that she received a Hermès bracelet from Tarte, along with some of the brand's makeup products, in a PR package sent to her home. In the video, Kate showed a Dancing with the Stars -themed box and opened it to reveal the Mini Clic Kelly Bracelet inside.

Halley was visibly overwhelmed by the surprise gift and thanked the brand, showing off "how cute" the bracelet looked with the rest of her "stack" on her wrist. According to the Hermès website, the Mini Clic Kelly Bracelet retails for $700.

Along with Kate, other creators like Cierra Miller , Lauren Wolfe , Alexis Oakley and Aditya Madiraju also received the surprise gift in their PR packages, and their reactions subsequently went viral.

However, the anticipation for the potential Hermès gift sparked controversy online after other influencers revealed that they did not receive the coveted bracelet in their packages.

Influencer Ken Eurich posted a TikTok on Saturday, Sept. 14, and shared her excitement to open her own PR package from Tarte after she saw "Halley Kate get sent a Hermès bracelet" in her own package, she said. In the video, she then revealed that she did receive a little box, but it instead contained a necklace with her name on it.

halleykate/TikTok

"They're picking favorites and this is f----- up," Eurich said in her video before she held up the necklace for the camera. While she said she would "take" the necklace, she expressed her disappointment and said the brand is "on her s--- list."

Another influencer, Chloe Bean, also shared in a video posted on TikTok on Sunday, Sept. 15, that she saw the excitement around the PR packages and revealed that she received a box of Cheez-It crackers and candy fish in her package instead. But she wasn't overly disappointed.

In the video, she said she was happiest about getting restocks of her favorite Tarte products and that the brand "thought of me" in the first place. She added, "Who needs jewelry?," in response to not receiving the coveted bracelet.

Users online reacted with shock to the discrepancies and accused the brand of "playing favorites" with the influencers — especially White creators — who received the Hermès bracelets and the others who did not.

A spokesperson at Tarte Cosmetics tells PEOPLE that "this is a misunderstanding" and clarifies that "for the Hermès bracelet mailer, 33% of the creators [who received the bracelet] were Black and 50% were BIPOC."

"We don’t pay creators to post, so not everyone decided to share," the spokesman explains. "No matter the mailer — whether it's Cheez-Its & candy for a Love Island mailer, Hermès bracelets, or nameplate necklaces — 33% of every mailer always goes to Black creators & 50% to BIPOC. Our DEI efforts will remain intentional."

Tarte has previously been criticized for brand trips organized for influencers that aren't diverse. The most recent influencer trip that received backlash took place in February 2024, when the brand flew influencers to Bora Bora . While the latest brand trip did include a more diverse group of influencers than previous trips, many still criticized the lavish display by the brand.

In an interview with the New York Times , Tarte Cosmetics founder Maureen Kelly defended the brand's approach and said, “We found the investment in these relationships to be more valuable in the long term than spending millions of dollars on one-off media campaigns.” 

She explained that the trips generally cost "way less" than a typical Super Bowl ad and that she "finds it so interesting that people don’t get outraged when they see the Super Bowl commercials or those Times Square billboards.”

She previously also expressed that she believed that the "brand trips aren't out of touch" and that she thought the outrage was because "people are upset that they’re not there.”

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America’s Field Trip: Inspiring the Next Generation of Explorers

Sep 16, 2024

W hen we first launched the pilot of America’s Field Trip earlier this year, it was hard to imagine exactly how it would all play out. Would students be interested in getting an up-close view of some of our nation’s most well-known historic and cultural treasures? Would they embrace the opportunity to reflect on what America means to them? The response was overwhelming—we were elated to have awardees representing 44 of our nation’s states and territories. We saw firsthand that our young people are curious, engaged, and ready to learn about the rich tapestry of America. Their enthusiasm gives me great hope for our shared future.

It is from this place of optimism and commitment to the next generation that America250 is kicking off the next round of America’s Field Trip . This nationwide contest invites students in grades 3–12 to be part of America’s 250th anniversary by answering one important question: “What does America mean to you?”

In the summer of 2025, a total of 75 first-prize awardees will earn the opportunity to embark on an extraordinary journey to one of America’s most iconic museums, landmarks, or natural wonders. From the historic corridors of the National Archives in Washington, DC, to backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, and visiting the Kennedy Space Center in Florida—the birthplace of American spaceflight—and meeting retired astronauts, these field trips reflect the diversity of our country and the dynamic fabric of the American experience. Another 75 second-place awardees will receive cash awards.

This summer, I joined some of our award-winning students on their field trips, and I was struck by their voracious interest in every aspect of their experience. One of the highlights was the field trip to New York City, where I accompanied eight remarkable students and their guardians to explore the Statue of Liberty, the Bank of New York, and the Federal Reserve. Each stop was filled with curiosity and excitement, with students asking thoughtful, unexpected questions that reflected their eagerness to learn. At the Federal Reserve, we even had the unique experience of holding a real brick of gold—worth nearly a million dollars! Each student marveled at the weight and value, and by the end of the trip, each one shared how they would remember this day forever. Moments like that are exactly what America’s Field Trip is all about.

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the incredible organizations that have worked with us to bring the first-ever America’s Field Trip contest to life. Special thanks to our Founding Sponsor, BNY, and to the National Park Service (NPS), Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, National Archives, American Village, and Discovery Education for their unwavering support. We are thrilled to be working with many of the same partners—and a few new ones—for the 2025 contest.

As we gear up for 2026, my hope is that this program continues to grow, reaching students and teachers in every corner of our nation.

Teachers and students, this is your invitation to be a part of history! Starting today through April 16, 2025, students’ entries may be submitted to be a part of America’s Field Trip. For details on how to enter the contest, please visit america250.org/fieldtrip . Here, you’ll find resources for educators and parents to help their students/children, bring history to life and explore our nation’s past, present, and future.

I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us next!

Chair, America250

America's Field Trip

Engaging students nationwide to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary!

This contest invites students in grades 3–12 to share their perspectives on what America means to them — and earn the opportunity to travel for field trip experiences at some of the nation’s most iconic historic and cultural landmarks.

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How Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin found the funny in the sadness of road-trip dramedy A Real Pain

Eisenberg wrote and directed the movie about cousins who reconnect for a trip to explore their Holocaust-survivor grandmother's Polish roots.

Gerrad Hall is an executive editor at Entertainment Weekly , overseeing TV, music, and awards coverage. He is also host of the daily What to Watch podcast and weekly video series, as well as The Awardist podcast. Gerrad also cohosts EW's live Oscars, Emmys, SAG, and Grammys red carpet shows, and he has appeared on Good Morning America , The Talk , Access Hollywood , Extra! , and other talk shows, delivering the latest news on pop culture and entertainment.

Kieran Culkin is ready to “talk s---” about Jesse Eisenberg . 

The two, who star in A Real Pain , which Eisenberg also wrote and directed, calls up Entertainment Weekly during a gondola ride at the Telluride Film Festival , where the movie has a surprise screening over Labor Day Weekend. 

“He’s going to walk away so he doesn’t hear this.... You want the actual truth, man?” Culkin jokes, his dry sense of humor quickly apparent as he answers a question about his impression of Eisenberg as a director. “No, it's interesting," he says on a more serious note. "I thought he wrote a brilliant script — I didn't know he was a great writer. I like him as an actor. So [I thought,] let's see how he is as a director.” 

Searchlight Pictures

What Culkin found was someone who cared so much about striking the right tone with his dark comedy — about polar-opposite cousins who tour Poland and visit the childhood home of their Holocaust-survivor grandmother who recently died — that he sought out the opinion “on every aspect of everything” from pretty much everyone who worked on the film. “A lot of times, for better or for worse, you end up with a director that's completely in charge of every tiny little aspect of things — which has its upsides and downsides sometimes, depending on the personality — and then there's also the directors [who make you question,] ‘Who the hell's in charge here?’" Culkin says. "He wasn't either of those. He found the balance between the two.” 

Considering how personal the story is to Eisenberg, it’s no surprise how much care he put into the project. In 2007, he toured Poland with his now-wife, going to all of the cities where his characters travel, including a village where his aunt lived decades earlier. After returning to the States, he wrote and starred alongside Vanessa Redgrave in the off-Broadway play The Revisionist , about a young man visiting his Polish cousin who survived the war. 

“I became interested in that topic and thinking about the privilege versus trauma and how people like me walk around feeling bad for themselves over petty things when I actually know for a fact that my family suffered existential trauma, and just trying to reconcile how to think about that,” he explains. “So I've been thinking about it and writing stuff around this topic for a long time. And then the movie came. I also have a certain taste in World War II movies about Jews, and I guess this movie was also staking a claim on what the tone could be…that you can have an irreverent tone of a movie while still maintaining reverence for the subject.”

In Culkin, he found the perfect conduit for the irreverence. The Succession alum, who won an Emmy earlier this year for the final season of the HBO drama, admits he was “laughing out loud the entire time” he read the script. As Benji, he ditches the high-pressure world of corporate media for a more charming, easy-going, and likable but emotionally stunted extrovert who masks his problems with humor. 

“I often don't know why I like something, which doesn't make for a good answer in an interview,” Culkin says, pondering what it was about Benji that excited him. “It's very rare that I read something and I go, ‘Oh, I fully understand who this person is. I have no questions, and I don't want to talk about it.’ I feel like I didn't make the connection until after we each shot the movie, but it was like, I know somebody exactly like this, that I’m very close with. I read it and went, ‘Oh, I know how to do that.’”

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You could say Benji is, well, a real pain, certainly in many ways to his cousin, Eisenberg’s David. When they reconnect at the top of the film, they haven’t seen each other in years. Reuniting for this trip, funded by the money left to them by their grandmother, David — the more uptight, reserved, and by-the-book of the two — is cautiously optimistic that they can rediscover the more brotherly bond they had as kids. In some ways, they do, but in the process, Benji comes up against some struggles with his mental health. Benji’s underlying torment and grief become the focal point of the story, and Culkin’s skilled handling of the emotional acrobatics make the audience cringe one second at something he says or does and then feel an enormous amount of sympathy the next.

“The movie really lives or dies on that character,” Eisenberg says, expressing how lucky he feels that Culkin — who has openly said he tried getting out of the movie, which filmed right after Succession wrapped — accepted the part. “It's funny, when I was going through actors and Kieran was immediately recommended to me, my first thought was, ‘Wait, does he do comedy or drama?’ And that for me is the answer — that this person can be so funny, but you don't know them as a comic.... That's what Kieran brought to it; it's exactly the tone that I wanted. It can swing from lowbrow comedy to highbrow philosophical discussions in the same scene. Kieran just naturally is able to do that because he's super smart and he's super funny, but he has so much feeling inside."

Culkin, though, recalls that Eisenberg once admitted he had never seen any of the Igby Goes Down and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World star’s movies. 

“But you’d seen me on stage?” Culkin asks, his director seemingly shaking his head in disagreement. “No? You hadn’t even…Oh, okay, so what is it you’d seen? Anything?” 

“I just knew you,” Eisenberg explains as Culkin laughs in the background. “But it’s so great because you have an essence of a person. This movie is naturalism. Your character is a little heightened, and so you have to know the person because the person's bringing their whole selves to it. Kieran has an unusual life and so much emotion, and yet if you have a conversation with him, it's just hysterical. He's quick, and I'm fast, and it's important that the two of us seem like we're from the same family. We speak in a similar way, [have a] similar sense of humor, similar likings, comfortable speaking in a crass way, but not in a dumb way.”

As for the “reverence for the subject,” the film doesn’t shy away from the more profound and solemn moments we see via the tour David and Benji go on in Poland along with characters played by Jennifer Grey , Liza Sadovy, Daniel Oreskes, and Kurt Egyiawan, and led by Will Sharpe ’s James. There are some antics along the way, courtesy of Benji, like a hilarious photo opp at an enormous World War II statue and David anxiously following his cousin’s lead in sneaking into first-class seats on a train ride. Those end up making the more quiet, private moments between characters even more compelling and powerful, especially when they have a moving visit to Majdanek, a former concentration camp, and seek out their grandmother’s childhood home, which they filmed at Eisenberg’s actual family home in Kranystaw. 

Eisenberg & co.’s efforts paid off with an overwhelmingly warm reception — “an amazing experience,” he calls it — at the movie’s debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January. A Real Pain (opening Nov. 1 in limited release), which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize and won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Eisenberg’s screenplay, was the first sale of the festival, going to Searchlight for a reported $10 million. But the writer-director-star admits not being sure what to think at the premiere. 

“I had no sense of if it was real or not because I've been involved with movies that have gotten really exuberant responses that are just not good movies. So as soon as the movie ended, I ran up to Ali Herting, the producer, and I said, ‘Wait, is this good or bad? Is this good or bad?’ He said, ‘No, no, it's good, it's good, it's good,’” Eisenberg recalls almost eight months later. “But sometimes you don't have a sense really if people are liking something or they're clapping because it's over. But it was a magical experience.... It was the most exhilarating experience of my professional life.”

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In-Person Field Trip Activities

All MoMath field trips feature hands-on, grade-appropriate activities illuminating the joy of mathematics to students of all mathematical backgrounds!

Educator-Led: Classroom Sessions | Activities Collaborative Construction Experiences

Educator-Led Classroom Sessions

Cryptography (grades 4 through 12)

Lessons available:

• The Secrets of Telling Secrets (grades 4 through 9) Students are introduced to the substitution cipher, which hides messages by replacing letters or groups of letters with other letters or groups of letters.  Working with their classmates, students practice making and breaking different ciphers.
• Keeping Secrets in Public (grades 10 through 12) Students are introduced to public key cryptography, which allows the public to encrypt but not decrypt, and only gives select individuals the decryption key.  This type of cryptography solves the problem of passing along the key easily and securely.  Using arithmetic and network graphs, students will explore this complex and fun type of secret-keeping!

Geometry (grades Pre-K through 4)

• Shape Shifters (grades Pre-K through 2) Shapes are all around us, and form the basic building blocks of modern life.  Using wooden squares, rectangles, rhombi, trapezoids, and hexagons, students will discover how shapes are different from each other and how mathematicians identify and name them.  Interactive activities and games will teach students about geometrical symmetries and how to construct polygons with many sides, including the tetracontakaihexagon!
• Tessellation Station (grades Pre-K through 4) From nature to art to architecture, tessellations — or tiling patterns — offer a creative way to understand geometry outside the classroom.  Students will use the symmetries of polygons to discover surprising and beautiful patterns as they learn about infinite tessellations of the plane.

Graph Theory (grades 5 through 12)

A network graph is a simple mathematical object that is useful for studying connections between absolutely anything!  Graphs can help us study everything from the internet to transportation networks, and from ecological systems to groups of friends.  Wherever things are connected or related to each other, graph theory is there.  The programs offered in graph theory offer different introductions to the subject, highlighting the intuitive and creative problem solving that makes graph theory so much fun.

• Graphs of the Rainbow (grades 5 through 10) Working in small groups, students learn the many shades of graph coloring problems and how they relate to some real-life situations.  They learn how to interpret a map as a certain type of graph by studying interesting examples and making simple drawings, leading to an appreciation for one of the most important principles of graph theory!
• Graph Games (grades 9 through 12) After a quick intro to network graphs, students learn how to play a competitive game involving graph coloring. With this simple foundation, students are then introduced to an interesting problem that has not yet been solved, in a niche area of research where graph theory meets game theory.

Probability (grades 5 through 12)

• Crazy Dice (grades 5 through 8) Once students find the probability of rolling a given sum with a pair of standard dice, they are challenged with finding a different way to number their dice to get the same probabilities.  Crazy!
• Evening the Odds (grades 9 through 12) The probability of rolling different sums with a standard pair of dice depends upon the sum in question.  This activity guides students to find ways to renumber their dice so every sum appears with the same probability.  But then, what sums are possible to fit into this scheme?  How many different sums can be rolled with equal likelihood?  The answers to these questions and more are found in this activity.

Topology (grades 3 through 12)

Sometimes called “rubber geometry,” topology is the study of properties of objects that don’t change even when those objects are twisted, stretched, shrunk, and bent.  Circles become squares, flat becomes curved, and coffee cups become doughnuts, in this amazing branch of math.

• Möbius Madness (grades 3 through 6) Students construct fascinating topological objects such as Möbius bands, discovering their fundamental patterns and structures.  Hands-on activities lead students to discover the surprising properties hidden around every twist and turn!

• Topological Tic-Tac-Toe (grades 7 through 12) The familiar game of tic-tac-toe becomes fun and challenging when we play it on alternative topological surfaces.  The typical 3×3 game board is enhanced by gluing together pairs of opposite edges together in various ways, making for more interesting games and mind-bending playing spaces.  Students will learn to appreciate the ins and outs of these new objects as they develop strategies to master the mathematically enhanced games.

Educator-Led Exhibit Activities

Roll up your sleeves for these 45-minute activities with a MoMath educator, during which students will take a deeper dive into the some of the exhibits at MoMath on Fifth .

• Solve for X :   an exploration of operations using exhibits such as Sea Saw , Math Unleashed , and Organ Function Grinder (for grades 5 through 12)
• The Third Dimension :   exploring 3D geometry using exhibits such as Ring of Fire , Polyscope , and Structure Studio (appropriate for all grade levels)
• Symmetry Playground :   a playful experience with symmetry using exhibits such as Self Reflections , Miles of Tiles , and PolyPaint (for grades K through 8)
• Cryptography Scavenger Hunt :   explore cryptography and break secret codes to find your way around the exhibits at MoMath on Fifth (for grades 3 through 12)

Collaborative Construction Experiences

Work together during these 45-minute, collaborative group construction experiences.  Activities are appropriate for all grade levels.

• Leonardome :   Build a giant dome in various patterns based on the ingenious designs of Leonardo da Vinci
• DoDecArt :   Learn about the many features of the dodecahedron and create impressive dodecahedral structures
• Play Truchet Challenge :   Create and match intricate patterns while developing visual and mathematical perception
• Multi-Morphing Megaplex:   Use geometric shapes to build a fractal structure and discover the math and beauty of the Sierpinski Tetrahedron

Back to Field Trips at MoMath

Thomas Li, Skateboarding in 4 Dimensions

The judges are excited to recognize the video, “Skateboarding in 4 Dimensions,” by Thomas Li from Clarksville, MD, for its originality in making the connection between skateboarding and rotations in three dimensions. The video is passionate and fun, and the judges loved its playfulness. The skewering of the apple and Thomas’s genuine enthusiasm—conveying his belief that quaternion multiplication is cool—added to the video’s charm. This engaging and educational video stands out for its creativity and the enthusiasm it brings to learning and applying complex mathematical concepts.

Click here to watch Thomas’s video.

Aria Makhija and Oma Makhija, PRIMES Card Game

Click here to watch their video.

Alex Rosenzweig, “The Face Field”

While taking a course in multivariable calculus, Alex Rosenzweig became fascinated by the concepts of gradients and vector fields.  Struck by the use of the same word — “gradient” — in art, he composed this watercolor painting to illustrate the mathematical meaning of gradients and vector fields in this innovative, three-dimensional series of self-portraits.  The image charmed the judges mathematically and pedagogically, as well as artistically.

Click here to view the painting.

Sohil Rathi, Mastering AMC 8 – Recursion

Sohil Rathi created a comprehensive prep text for students interested in the American Mathematics Competition. This hybrid book, featuring both text and videos, serves as a valuable resource for aspiring competitors. In particular, the judges were intrigued by a collection of problems about recursion formulas, including a nifty stair-climbing problem related to the Virankha-Fibonacci numbers. With accompanying video solutions, as well as helpful pointers and strategies, this collection is sure to benefit students seeking to excel in the AMC competitions.

Click here to view Sohil’s writing.

Parth Patel, Orthogonal Friends  

In this captivating expository paper, Parth Patel’s novel concept of on “Orthogonal Friends” emerges from his initial misunderstanding of a calculus lesson on orthogonal trajectories. The paper not only demonstrates a clear understanding of the mathematical concepts but also successfully conveys the broader point that mistakes can be remarkably fruitful, and that mathematics is a realm of endless exploration and discovery. This paper was a joy to read!

Click here to view Parth’s paper.

Rohan Mehta, The Attention Mechanism Demystified 

Rohan Mehta’s attempt to explain the mathematical underpinnings of transformers, such as ChatGPT, demonstrates a deep understanding of advanced mathematical concepts. Despite the complexity of the topic, Rohan’s explanations are clear and provide intuitive understanding. The writing style showcases a remarkable level of grace, confidence, and sophistication, leaving the judges astonished that this work was produced by a high school student.

Click here to view Rohan’s writing.

Anaya Willabus, cool math is complex/haiku’s beauty is simple/math makes poetry  

In this remarkable exploration of communicating math concepts through the art of haiku, Anaya Willabus offers a new way to entice people to learn about complex mathematical topics. The inclusion of notorious unsolved problems, such as the Collatz conjecture, adds a captivating twist. The judges were particularly impressed by the inventiveness of this endeavor, recognizing its potential as a gateway to bridging the gap between mathematics and poetry and enhancing the public’s engagement with math.

Click here to view Anaya’s poetry.

Zoë Nadal, Zero’s Lament

The judges were delighted by Zoë Nadal’s exceptional performance in the entry “Zero’s Lament.” With witty lyrics, captivating singing, and impressive piano playing, she conveyed the mathematical quirks of zero in a memorably original fashion. Zoë’s musical talent and humor, combined with the video’s educational content, add up to a uniquely entertaining experience.

Click here to watch Zoë’s performance.

Jaemin Kim, Benford’s Law

Immersing viewers in a whimsical cartoon fairy tale, Jaemin Kim tells a tale of a kingdom in financial distress as a narrative device to introduce the statistical regularity known as Benford’s law. This creative video serves as an engaging platform to demonstrate how Benford’s law can be employed as a powerful tool for fraud detection. The judges were struck by the clarity of the explanation, which effectively conveyed the meaning and intuitive understanding behind Benford’s law, and they admired the playful videography and storytelling that brought the concept to life.

Click here to view Jaemin’s video.

Griffin Hon, Principal Component Analysis 

Griffin Hon’s video effectively conveys the key ideas of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), a fundamental tool in linear algebra and data analysis. With a spirit of invention and playfulness, Griffin reveals the hidden geometry underlying PCA. The judges were impressed by the engaging approach taken in the video and commend Griffin’s ability to communicate complex mathematical concepts in an entertaining, down-to-earth fashion.

Click here to see Griffin’s video.

Akilan Sankaran, Exploring and Explaining the Elegance of Mathematics through Twitter

The judges were enthralled by Akilan Sankaran’s exceptional teaching and warm demeanor in the writing entry entitled “Math on Twitter.” With clarity and expertise, he presents the “éclair puzzle,” related to Fibonacci-Virankha numbers, and uses this puzzle to illustrate problem-solving strategies more generally. His post on Eulerian circuits offers clear graphs, historical insights, and optional proofs.  Akilan’s skill at blending theory, history, and education truly create an engaging and unique Twitter experience.  The judges commend Akilan for his stellar ability to teach complex mathematical ideas with clarity and enthusiasm, making the journey through mathematical concepts both enjoyable and satisfying, all while fostering a dedication to an inclusive and welcoming learning space.

Click here to view Akilan’s Twitter stream.

Isabelle Schwartz, COVID American Angels

The judges were deeply moved by the emotional impact and thoughtfulness in “COVID American Angels.” This poignant piece delves into the overwhelming reality of the unfathomable 200,000 deaths caused by COVID, employing a powerful symbol—the American flag—to represent each life lost. Through this visual representation, Isabelle Schwartz explores the profound challenge of visualizing such vast numbers and implores us to connect with each human life beyond mere statistics. “COVID American Angels” stirs our emotions and provokes reflection. The judges applaud her for tackling such a challenging subject matter with grace and sensitivity, creating a stunning piece of art that leaves a lasting impression.

Click here to view Isabelle’s art.

Kareem Jaber, The Unsolvable Configuration of the 15 Puzzle and an Interesting Approach to Abstract Algebra

In Kareem Jaber’s essay on the 15 puzzle, the exposition builds from the concrete to the general, and gently walks the reader through this classic puzzle as well as through problem-solving techniques more broadly. By the end, it becomes clear that this puzzle is actually a case study in group theory about permutations. The judges felt that Kareem’s entry was particularly suitable for students with a serious interest in mathematics. 

Click here to read the essay.

Adam Dhalla, Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence: Selected Writings

In this impressive collection of videotaped lectures about the math of neural networks, deep learning, and artificial intelligence, Adam Dhalla keeps it old school, standing in front of a whiteboard and using colored markers, but he modernizes the classic style by providing useful timestamps in the video description. The judges also admired his stage presence, his clear voice, and the production quality of the videos. 

Click here to visit Adam’s site

Griffin Hon, Random Walks

The judges were bowled over by the energy and sense of humor in Griffin Hon’s entry, “Random Walks”! This video will appeal to kids of all ages, and it does a great job of conveying the excitement, importance, and universality of random walks. The subject of random walks pops up in many parts of mathematics and has applications in fields ranging from finance to physics, all of which were engagingly presented in Griffin’s video.

Click here to watch the video.

Rin Fukuoka, Origametry

In “Origametry,” Rin Fukuoka uses origami to construct regular polygons and also to trisect an angle.  The judges found the video very fresh, playful, and minimal (no words are spoken, and only a few are written). The level of the teaching is especially skillful (for example, note the appropriate pauses in the trisection argument after the rhetorical question “but why?”). At that point and elsewhere, Rin demonstrates great sensitivity to the audience. 

Click here to watch the video 

Angela Wu, The Special Parallelograms

Angela Wu earned honorable mention for her suspenseful movie trailer about special parallelograms: rectangles, rhombuses, and squares. It’s a funny and well-edited video that will have wide appeal.

Raunak Banerjee, PCA Made Easy

Using shadows of an airplane as an example, Raunak Banerjee’s illustrated essay offers a welcome introduction to principal component analysis, a dimension reduction technique in data science, and then deciphers the jargon that often clouds the understanding of this statistical technique.  

Click here to read his essay.

Thais Estrada-Nuñez, Universal Math

In this elegantly brief poem, Thais Estrada-Nuñez starts from “One seed plus one seed is two seeds,” and soon we’re taking flight (and the layout of the poem itself looks like it’s taking flight on the page). The overall effect is stylish, with hints of subtlety and depth.

Click here to read the poem.

Arushee Jha, Round Königsberg

Arushee Jha’s website, “Round Königsberg,” is dedicated to combinatorics and is enlivened by Arushee’s colorful original drawings.  Viewers will be drawn in by the website’s exposition of such engaging topics as the seven bridges of Königsberg (a seminal problem in the development of graph theory) and the history and reasoning behind magic squares.

Click here to visit the website.

Wyeth Renwick, a proof of the function me

Wyeth Renwick’s poem is intriguingly ambiguous and open to interpretation: some of the judges read it as a love poem that winks at the reader with its use of mathematical concepts and language, while others saw it as a poetic animation of a human relationship, viewed as the graph of a function.  Either way, it makes math and poetry both seem more accessible to students who might otherwise not be drawn to these subjects. 

In her project, Madeline uses the musical instrument known as the marimba to demonstrate something profound about music: musical harmony is intimately connected to the ratios of small whole numbers, a discovery that Pythagoras and his followers are said to have made 2500 years ago. The judges were impressed with the clarity and elegance of Madeline’s explanations and demonstrations.

Click here to watch Madeline’s video.

Jibran has an Instagram site, @creative_math, where he introduces high school students to topics normally reserved for undergraduate math majors. The judges admired the attractiveness of his posts and how skillfully he explains advanced mathematical ideas, always with a friendly voice.

Click here to read Jibran’s posts.

Alyssa wrote a paper that explains the optimal strategy for tic-tac-toe and also explores variants of the game on a 4×4 grid and in a 3x3x3 cubical lattice in three dimensions. The judges appreciated the clarity and originality of Alyssa’s investigations.

Click here to read Alyssa’s paper.

Cole’s project was an essay about “a disconnect between the way math is typically portrayed and the way that it is actually done.” Math textbooks and papers usually try to look flawless, but anyone who does math knows how messy and confused it can be when you’re actually doing it. Cole interviewed several mathematicians about this disconnect and produced a cogent argument that math communication would be more effective if we humanized it by showing our mistakes as well as our insights.

Click here to read Cole’s essay

For his project, Ian constructed a song out of the digits of the irrational number known as the golden ratio (also known as the divine proportion because of its beauty). All the judges found the project intriguing as an exploration and thought the song itself was surprisingly pretty.

Click here to listen to Ian’s song.

Madeleine created a portrait of the mathematician Valerie Thomas. The judges were impressed with this project’s inventiveness: it uses nothing but the characters “3D”—artfully placed—to create a powerfully evocative  portrait of a mathematician known for her work on 3D satellite imaging.

Helena wrote a “found poem” – a poem where every word (except for “you” and “us”) is from another source, in this case the MathWorld article by Eric Weisstein on “Fundamental Theorems of Calculus.” Helena rearranged the words to create something totally unexpected, an understated little poem that took the judges’ breath away.

Click here to read Helena’s poem.

Shreya and Amy teamed up to bring a combinatorial identity to life. Using basketball as a mathematical playground, they showed two approaches to calculating how many ways a player could make or miss n shots, and thereby neatly led the viewer through a proof that the sum of the binomial coefficients “ n choose k ” from k = 0 to n equals 2^ n . The video is goofy and fun: Amy writes (and playfully trash-talks) while Shreya shoots and, before you know it, they’ve derived the identity for the sum of the binomial coefficients. The judges enjoyed the simple but clever videography, the banter between the girls, and their neat explanations of the math.  

Click here to watch the video

Julia Schanan’s entry for the Strogatz Prize was a free-verse poem titled “Math Person.” The judges were moved by the poem’s artistry and emotional power, its depth and raw honesty, its brilliant use of language, and its eye for the unexpected but telling detail. “Math Person” conveys – in ways both beautiful and haunting – the isolation Julia felt as one of the only girls in the American Math Competition 10th grade and, more profoundly, the intellectual isolation she still feels every day as someone who loves math deeply yet lacks a friend with whom to share it.

Mom offers to stop by Panera as a treat for all the painful math that I’ve just endured.

Except it wasn’t painful.

I’m someone who sat through the slow-drip of middle school math, bored and daydreaming,

not seeing what it was all for, wishing – but never working up the guts to push – for more.

Not until now.

Now, I don’t want Panera.

I don’t want to be patted on the shoulder and misunderstood.

I want to go back into that auditorium and finish the exam and talk about it all night.

The judges felt that their own words were inadequate to summarize Julia’s achievement in writing “Math Person.” Let us simply say, read her poem and experience it for yourself.

Click here to read Julia’s poems.

Apoorva Panidapu is a 16-year-old mathematics student, artist, and advocate for youth and gender minorities in STEAM. She writes a blog called “Gems in STEM” and frequently posts the essays on Cantor’s Paradise, the #1 math site on Medium.com.  She sees her blog as “a place to learn about math topics in an accessible, light-hearted manner. I assume no more than basic math knowledge and include fun tidbits for learners of all experience levels. For both my own fun and for readers, I weave in pop culture, pick-up lines, and over-the-top stories to let people into the fantastical world of math, and to show them that anyone can enjoy anything.”

The judges were very impressed with Apoorva’s joyful, elegantly written blog posts on a wide range of math topics, from the liar’s paradox and partitions to tessellations and fractals. Combining clear explanations with an appealing layout and well-chosen graphics, Gems in STEM is itself a gem. The judging panel loved the wide range of Apoorva’s blog posts. They touch on history, etymology, and puzzles, and make connections to everything from art and architecture to science and nature. Apoorva’s uplifting message is that math is everywhere and approachable by anyone from any background.

Click here   to read  Apoorva’s posts. 

Shirley’s animated video is filled with jokes and pop-culture references, intended to appeal to younger audiences (though the audience of older judges enjoyed it very much too). Her goal, she says in her essay, is to demystify “mathematics with humor, fun animations, and real-world scenarios.” In her video, Shirley illustrates a technique in combinatorics known as Sticks and Stones (or Stars and Bars) by telling a story about Grandpa Bob’s dilemma:  He wants to know how many different ways there are for him to distribute 10 one-dollar bills among his three granddaughters. With excellent pedagogy (including falling into a tempting mathematical trap and then showing how to get out of it), the video shows the viewer how to count all ways Grandpa Bob can solve his problem. The video is fun and fast-paced, but spends just the right amount of time on the harder ideas and leavens them with colorful graphics and word choice. 

Click here to watch Shirley’s video

Catherine’s video was inspired by her struggle to understand why the empty set is a subset of every set. As she wrote in her essay for this contest, “I’ve never been one to accept or memorize a mathematical concept unless it makes complete sense to me, so I decided to go beyond sheer numbers and create an analogy. I realized that the sets on my page could be related to my classes at school. As the elements of a mathematical set are numbers, the elements of a class are students. When some are absent, only a “subset” of the class exists. And when all are absent, a subset of the class still exists since the class period still technically occurs. This analogy wasn’t something I wanted to keep to myself, and so it became the basis of my entry to the Strogatz Prize competition!”

The judges appreciated Catherine’s lucid explanations and accompanying graphics. Set theory is often regarded as one of the most abstract parts of math, but in Catherine’s hands, it becomes tangible and vivid. Her classroom analogy should appeal to any student. Beyond that, Catherine gives the viewer a glimpse of the universality of set theory and a taste of its applications in computer science.

Click here to watch Catherine’s video 

In this video about a famous theorem in graph theory and topology, Smayan beautifully explains why every planar map can be colored with just four colors, in such a way that neighboring countries always have different colors. The video is gentle and clear, and enlivened by plentiful graphics, neatly synchronized to Smayan’s narration. He gives the viewer helpful intuition about how inequalities (for vertices, edges, and faces of planar graphs) can be used to cut a seemingly infinite problem down to a finite number of cases, which can then be checked by computer. The judges felt that this was a very crisp presentation of a deep result in advanced mathematics, explained in a way that anyone can grasp and enjoy. 

Click here to watch Smayan’s video

Jazz saxophonist and mathematician Marcus G. Miller will share a reflection on how math and music can make us whole.

Marcus G. Miller is a musician and mathematician living in New York City.

John Urschel, current MIT math PhD candidate and former NFL pro, shares his favorite logic puzzle.

John Urschel played professional football for the Baltimore Ravens from 2014 to 2017 before retiring to focus on his career in mathematics.  He is currently a PhD candidate at MIT, where he studies spectral graph theory, numerical linear algebra, and machine learning.

Get ready to take part in a whacky and zany brainteaser Kahoot with Steve Sherman.  This is a quiz that will tickle your brain-strings and challenge your thinking skills.  Some of the brainteasers will be easy while others will make you think.  Do you have what it takes to be our brainteaser champion?

Materials needed:

• Smart phone, tablet, or personal computer with internet access

Steve Sherman is the Chief Imagination Officer and Executive Daydreamer of Living Maths.

When visiting MoMath, the late, great John Horton Conway impressed people by instantly telling them the day of the week that any given date fell on or will fall on.  And you can do it too!  What date of the week will your birthday fall on next year?  Or your anniversary?  Or favorite holiday?  When’s the next Friday the 13th?  What day of the week were you born on?  Tune in for a presentation by MoMath Puzzle Master Peter Winkler on the marvelous “Doomsday rule.”  It’s easy and fun, and with a little practice you’ll be able to duplicate Conway’s feat.  It’s a great trick, and it’s cleverly designed so that you can remember it and wheel it out whenever it’s needed.

Peter Winkler is the current MoMath Distinguished Chair for the Public Dissemination of Mathematics and Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Dartmouth College.

Join Karl Schaffer as we play with several surprising ways of moving our limbs in circles.  Apply these actions to create movement sequences with the ultimate mathematical prop — an ordinary sheet of paper.  Then, learn how it connects to the curious algebra of quaternions!

• Several sheets of 8.5″ by 11″ printer paper
• 5′ by 5′ area in which to move (non-carpeted area preferred)

Karl Schaffer is a dancer, choreographer, mathematician, and math professor at De Anza College.

What can the fluidity of topology and knots have to do with the rigidity of operations on fractions?  Join Alex Kontorovich to learn the fascinating connection discovered by the late mathematician John Conway.

• 2 strings of different colors (wires or shoelaces are also okay)
• Surface to lay the strings on (e.g. floor or table is fine)
• Optional materials: paper and pencil

Alex Kontorovich is MoMath Dean of Academic Content and math professor at Rutgers.

Origami expert Wendy Zeichner will teach one or two origami action models that will be folded from regular printer paper.  There’s math in every fold!

• Several sheets of 8.5″ x 11″ printer paper
• Pen or pencil

Wendy Zeichner is an origami expert and president of OrigamiUSA.

Turn two pieces of heavy paper and some tape into a spinning top, and explore the geometry behind it!  Join Yana Mohanty, Ph.D., a mathematician and inventor of Geometiles ® , as she guides you through this fun STEM activity.  You will be provided with a printable template and shown how to transform it into your spinner.  Once you master the simple construction, you may decorate your spinner with your own design.

Materials needed (metric equivalents in brackets) :

• 2 sheets of 8.5” x 11” (size A4) card stock paper, ideally in 2 different colors; manila folders cut to 8.5” x 11” will also work
• Optional: This project can also be built from Geometiles® Mini Set 2 , available from Additions , the online shop at MoMath.

Yana Mohanty is a math educator, mathematician, and the creator of Geometiles®.

If repeated flips of a coin determined which step you took, would you get anywhere?  Step right in (bring your own coin) and find out!

Ralph Pantozzi is the winner of the 2014 Rosenthal Prize and a Presidential Awardee in math teaching.

Let’s discover the magic of Euler’s Polyhedral Formula while creating structures out of toothpicks and marshmallows.

• 1 box of traditional rounded toothpicks with points at both ends
• 1 bag of mini marshmallows

Bruce Bayly is a math professor at the University of Arizona and bus driver for the Arizona Mathematics Road Show.

Join us online for a math-and-paper engineering adventure!  Godwyn Morris, Director of Dazzling Discoveries STEM Education Center, will demonstrate some Engineering with Paper challenges.  Together we will explore proportion, ratio, and scale as Godwyn shows you how to create structures, furniture, and characters from simple supplies.

Materials needed:  

• Printer paper

Godwyn Morris is the Director of Dazzling Discoveries STEM Education Center.

Dr. Arthur Benjamin will amaze you with some mathematical magic, and then teach you how to do it.  Bring a calculator!

Art Benjamin is an award-winning popular entertainer, mathemagician, and math professor at Harvey Mudd College.

Bring along something bendy — a tie, a shoelace, a piece of string — and let’s have fun exploring some of the curious mathematics of folding.

• Something bendy, such as a tie, shoelace, or piece of string

James Tanton is a global educator, math popularizer, and mathematician.

Educator and entertainer John Chase will show you the powerful connections between mathematics and juggling.  Math modeling has given jugglers all kinds of new patterns to juggle, and we invite you to come see what mathematics can do.  Bring three juggling objects so you can join the fun!

• 3 juggling objects

John Chase is a mathematical juggler and math educator.

Manjul Bhargava will demonstrate an interactive magic trick that exhibits how one can create surprising complexity from extreme simplicity.  Viewers are encouraged to participate from home!

• 4 playing cards

Manjul Bhargava is the MoMath Inaugural Distinguished Visiting Professor for the Public Dissemination of Mathematics, math professor at Princeton University, and Fields Medalist.

Come and enjoy some non-competitive explorations in mathematics.

Mark Saul is the Senior Scientist at the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival.

Cindy Lawrence, MoMath Executive Director, and Tim Nissen, MoMath Associate Director, welcome all to the fifth annual NYC Math Festival, featuring hours of mathematical fun and entertainment.  Join presenters from all over the world to share an afternoon of lively, engaging activities.

James Tanton, Chair of MoMath’s Advisory Council, kicks the Festival off by sharing the highly intriguing “International Math Salute.”  Can you figure out how it works?

The Festival site opens at 1:30 pm EDT (New York).  Enter at any time between 1:30 pm and 2:00 pm to view some favorite MoMath pix from years gone by.  Activities begin promptly at 2:00 pm EDT (New York).

See our selection of Geometiles ® and browse for books by Festival presenters Peter Winkler and Art Benjamin.

A MoMath retail specialist will be on hand to answer questions and offer expert shopping advice for all your mathematical gift needs.

Stop by to view a selection of Rubik’s Cubes, browse for Christopher Danielson’s delightful books, Which One Doesn’t Belong?  and  How Many? , and learn more about the film The Man Who Knew Infinity , for which Manjul Bhargava served as technical advisor to ensure the accuracy of the math featured in the film.

A MoMath retail specialist will be on hand to answer questions and offer expert shopping advice for all your mathematical gift needs.

Check out MoMath’s selection of colorful origami paper, Karl Schaffer’s book  Math Dance , and other great items from  Additions,  the online shop at MoMath.

Watch as Lauren Rose builds a Rubik’s Cube mosaic, and try to figure out what the picture will be.  Math meets art in this creative application of the popular Rubik’s Cube.

Lauren Rose is a m athematician and math professor at Bard College.

Daniel Rose-Levine will demonstrate how he solves the Rubik’s Cube with his feet in under 20 seconds.

Daniel Rose-Levine is the former Rubik’s-Cube-with-feet world record holder.

How can the invisible world of mime explore mathematical ideas?  Join Tim Chartier as he uses mime to investigate weight, magnitude of force, and projective motion with the art of mime.  You’ll also learn how to make an infinite chocolate bar.  (The candy bar is a real prop but eating is pantomimed so enjoyment is calorie-free.)

Tim Chartier is a m athematical mime performer and math professor at Davidson College.  He has performed throughout the world and has been trained in several mime schools, including master classes with the legendary Marcel Marceau.

Symmetry is all around us.  We see symmetry in our bodies, car wheels, fences, fabric patterns, the MoMath logo, and many other objects!  We will learn about different types of symmetry and have fun creating symmetric art using common objects.

David Reimann is an Albion College math and computer science professor and artist who uses symmetry in his work.

Is an elevator a vehicle?  Is a hot dog a sandwich?  Is a heart a shape?  Is an emoji a word?  The answers to these questions depend on your definitions of vehicle, sandwich, shape, and word.  Precise definitions are essential tools of mathematics, but few definitions start out as precise as they’ll need to be later on.  Come play with the boundary between precision and ambiguity in this fast-paced participatory session.

Christopher Danielson is an award-winning author and math educator.

Join Mr. A. as he shares one of his many Math Raps, discusses how he got started rapping about math, and takes you through some of the mathematical ideas and references in the rap.

Mike Andrejkovics is a high school math teacher from Long Island, NY who creates and performs raps about mathematics based on popular hip-hop tracks.

Cindy Lawrence is the Executive Director and CEO of the National Museum of Mathematics.

Tim Nissen is the Associate Director of the National Museum of Mathematics.

Steve Sherman is the Chief Imagination Officer and Executive Daydreamer, Living Maths.

Peter Winkler is the MoMath Current Distinguished Visiting Professor for the Public Dissemination of Mathematics.

Bruce Bayly is a singer, violinist, and math professor at the University of Arizona.

Daniel Rose-Levine is the former Rubik’s-cube-with-feet world record holder.

James Tanton is a global educator, math popularizer, and research mathematician.

Lauren Rose is a dancer, choreographer, mathematician, and math professor at De Anza College.

Mark Saul is the Executive Director of the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival.

Origami expert Wendy Zeichner is the Executive Director of Origami USA.

Ralph Pantozzi is the winner of the 2014 Rosenthal Prize and a math educator.

Tim Chartier is a m athematical mime performer, math professor at Davidson College.

Livingston, NJ

“The purpose of Math Musings, the magazine I started in high school,” wrote Rohan Jha,  “was to show that math is everywhere, yet many times we are not aware of it.  It is behind some of the music we play, or how nature uses it for its own optimal benefit, or it could be behind a fancy card trick, or math could help us reduce the ubiquitously observed annoyance of traffic jams during peak hours.”  The magazine tries to humanize and enliven math in various ways: by telling anecdotes about famous mathematicians; by challenging fellow students with fun puzzles; or by leading them some deeper ideas, such as a lily pad puzzle that leads to the notion of backward recursion in finance.  With clear illustrations and step-by-step instructions for magic tricks and other activities, Rohan attempts to make math fun for everyone… and succeeds admirably.

Coronado, CA

The project submitted by Kyna Airriess is a “zine” based on a quote from A Mathematician’s Lament , a polemical essay by high school teacher Paul Lockhart.  “There is nothing as dreamy and poetic, as radical, subversive, and psychedelic, as mathematics,” wrote Lockhart.  Reading Lockhart’s essay, says Kyna,  “contributed to my own conversion from ardent math-hater to aspiring mathematician; I’d never heard someone describe math, the subject of unfeeling calculations, with words like ‘poetic’ and ‘radical.’  It was a long time before I began to see these traits for myself, but today I self-identify as a math nerd, and I want to study math in college.”

In the zine, each of Lockhart’s memorable adjectives—dreamy, poetic, subversive, and psychedelic—is illustrated and connected to math ideas, using symbols, history, color, and imagery.  The judges were impressed by the passionate energy conveyed by the zine’s words and design.  The overall effect achieves what Kyna intended:  to embody “what those of us who love math want the world to understand. It isn’t about cold calculations at all— it’s a field full of creativity and beauty, and it is just as infused with humanity as any other.”

 New York, NY

“Limericks and poetry are not a typical way to convey information about math,” admits Sarah Thau, “but I think it makes it more palatable than learning functions by rote.  Who doesn’t love a limerick?”  So Sarah created a series of short rhyming poems to list some basic properties of linear, quadratic, trigonometric, polynomial, rational, and other types of functions encountered in algebra and precalculus, and illustrated the pages with examples.

The judges were tickled by the playfulness of this entry.  Limericks are a lighthearted form of poetry in which creativity comes from working within constraints and overcoming them delightfully—and much the same can be said of math!  Indeed, as Sarah wrote, “I love math and am always trying to solve problems but this was a new type of problem to tackle.  One that didn’t need any algebra or modeling.  Each poem became a problem to solve as I tried to figure out words to make each function type’s properties rhyme neatly.”  The poems illuminate the distinctive properties of the various kinds of functions, and draw readers in through a unique, creative, and memorable way of communicating mathematical ideas.

Honolulu, HI

Jonah Yoshida’s project is a pencil-and-paper infographic on graph theory.  He says “I conceived of the idea when reading about how Arthur Cayley used trees to represent structures of hydrocarbons with n carbon atoms and 2n+2 hydrogen atoms.  The entire structure imitates one of these hydrocarbons, ethane (n=2), and a unique application of graph theory is included inside each atom.  I divided the page into two sections so that the hydrogens bonded to the left carbon contain puzzles and fun applications of graph theory, while the ones bonded to the right hydrogen focus more on direct applications, much like our brains’ left and right hemispheres.”  For example, the Four Color Theorem (a fun application of graph theory to coloring maps and an longstanding research question) appears on the left, while the right side includes applications of graphs to computer science (neural networks and spanning trees) and electrical engineering (circuit diagrams).

The judges appreciated the ingenious design concept of this graphic, which underscores the  universality and interdisciplinary spirit of graph theory.  The words and imagery combine history, math, chemistry, and psychology, and the questions in the small text boxes invite the reader to do some research of their own.

Toronto, ON

“My math communication project, Infinity Universe ,” wrote Yvonne Hong,  “is an illustrative yet mathematical depiction of the world in which we live.  Every inanimate object illustrated represents a simple, yet ubiquitous concept in math: upon closer inspection, the monochromatic tree is a fractal Pythagoras tree, the galaxy in the background is constructed using the Fibonacci sequence, and the planet and comet are both different variations of the Apollonian gasket.   Infinity Universe promotes the universality of math communication through an abstraction of objects and phenomena that people all around our world are familiar with.”

Carefully executed with great attention to detail, the painting submitted by Yvonne drew the judges in with its vibrant colors and hypnotic patterns.  Moreover, the theme of infinity pervades the painting, just as it does in all of mathematics.  But here, the suggestion of the infinite is magical and otherworldly rather than scientific and literal, and so may appeal to audiences not normally attracted to math.

New York, NY

Zoe Markman created a visual proof of the “sum of squares formula” by cleverly using three wooden 3-D pyramids that fit together.  Each pyramid consisted of a total of 1 2 + 2 2 + … + n 2 identical wooden cubes; thus, its volume visually represented the sum of the squares of all the whole numbers from 1 to n.  To find a formula for this sum of squares, Zoe manipulated and rearranged the three pyramids to form a rectangular prism, whose volume could then be easily calculated to obtain the desired formula for the sum of squares.

The judges agreed with Zoe that this sort of visual, hands-on manipulative “provides a deeper understanding of math than that provided by a written project.  Since you can observe, hold, and manipulate the pyramids (even more so in person), the audience is able to understand why the formula works rather than just taking it at face value and accepting that it was true arbitrarily.  Second, the presentation could be understood even by people without a significant knowledge of math.  It put what looks like an intimidating problem in terms that are easily digestible.”  Zoe even tested the presentation on friends who said they didn’t like math.  That’s a good practice in any form of communication.  Overall, this project is modest but extremely well done and produces a very pleasurable “Aha!” moment for many viewers; indeed, it led one of the judges to understand the “sum of squares formula” in a whole new way!

Santa Monica, CA

To express the universality of math, Katarina Cheng translated it into another universal language: dance. “Just as dance exists as a part of many cultures around the globe to express abstract ideas and emotions through movement, mathematics defies cultural lines to express abstract ideas through structures and forms on the page,” she wrote in her project description. Her video “Dancing the Dihedral Group” sought, through dance, “to represent the visual symmetries, primarily those of a square,” and, through words, “how they translated into algebra, primarily the group D8 .”

The judges commend Katarina for the elegance of her communication in the video. Especially notable was the esthetic of minimalism — in how the video is shot, and the choice of clothing, background, and colors — all of which mesh perfectly with the minimal esthetic of group theory. The integration of the math graphics with the dance moves was also carried out gracefully. Although others in the past have recognized the similarities between math and dance, few have conveyed that analogy with such finesse in the execution. The dancing and music were artfully minimal too. The overall effect is to reinforce the central idea of beauty in simplicity.

Centreville, VA

Hamza Alsamraee loves Instagram – and he also loves math. But when he noticed that very few math pages existed on Instagram, he sought to change that by starting @daily_math, a page dedicated to intriguing problems and ideas about algebra, geometry, calculus, number theory, and other parts of math. “With high-quality educational posts,” he says, “I hoped to build an Instagram community centered around a shared passion for math.”

The judges were impressed with the creativity of Hamza’s entry, expressed through its skillful use of visuals, history, and puzzles, all presented in attractive ways. His explanations of mathematical concepts are clear and insightful, and he is very interactive with his followers, even inviting them to post. The judges also commend him on his growth as a creator and communicator. His Instagram page has evolved from a focus on tricky integrals in the early days to doing more accessible problems now, and the visual presentation has evolved in tandem. With his engaging design choices, which foster clear communication, he is making increasingly good use of the strengths of the Instagram medium.

Click here for the Daily Math Instagram account.

Click here for the Daily Math Tik Tok account.