Pupils
from across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire have completed the Maths Masterclass
series, which used YouTube star, Andy Murray and The Simpsons to teach maths
lessons.
Organised
by STEM charity TechFest in partnership with The Royal Institution (RI), the
series of eight workshops aimed to inspire the next generation of problem
solvers.
The 45
young people, who were drawn from S2 classes at 11 schools across the region,
received an insight into how mathematics can be applied and used outside the
classroom.
Completing
the series of Maths Masterclasses means the pupils have earned their CREST
Discovery Awards.
They
were presented with the award after the final class took place at RGU on
Saturday (March 25).
Over
the past eight weeks the pupils have learned from Dr Tom Crawford, also known
as Tom Rocks Maths to his 125,000 social media followers, whose online videos
include stripping off to explain complex maths equations and sitting an A-level
maths exam without studying!
The
young people also heard from experts covering topics such as how to predict the
likelihood of Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu winning a tennis match and how
maths is used in cult TV cartoon The Simpsons.
Feedback
from the pupils was overwhelmingly positive.
One of
the pupils who attended the Maths Masterclass sessions said, “My favourite part
of the Masterclasses was learning new Mathematical secrets, being able to
socialise and have fun whist learning at the same time.”
Saturday’s
final Maths Masterclass was presented by Amy Hooker, the Secondary School
Masterclass Lead from the Royal Institution in London
and focused on Sierpiński Triangles, a beautiful mathematical shape
which appears in some surprising places.
During
Amy’s Maths Masterclass, the young people learnt about Sierpiński’s triangle.
Sierpiński
triangles are made up of multiple triangles inside of one triangle.
Self-similar shapes are repeated in different sizes
in a never-ending feedback loop, creating a fractal.
The
pupils created the shape in different ways and
investigated its properties.
The
session provided a chance to see how simple rules can lead to amazing outcomes.
It also allowed the young mathematicians to explore a different way of counting
dimensions.
Yashka
Smith, STEM Lead at TechFest said: “The Maths Masterclasses were sponsored by
Serica Energy, and we are delighted to have had their support.
“It
has allowed us to deliver an incredibly interesting series of maths-based
sessions to young people from across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. The sessions
have been a great success and covered a wide range of topics including coding,
tennis, the energy transition, and space!
“The
series has provided a fantastic opportunity to show the application of maths in
real life and the young people who have attended the sessions have been really
engaged.
“We’re
pleased to have been able to present CREST Discovery awards to so many young
people, it’s fantastic that they have not only enjoyed the workshops but also
now have an award as recognition of their interest in mathematics.”
Chris
Kay of Serica Energy’s Charity and Education Committee said, “The success of Techfest’s incredibly
creative Maths Masterclasses is inspiring for Serica as it pulls together many
of our goals as a Company; contributing to our local communities, encouraging
people to be all they can be and developing young minds for future career
success.
“Our congratulations to Techfest and great
thanks for the opportunity to meet some of the participants and get involved.”
TechFest is an Aberdeen-based charity which aims to engage
young people in the four main STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics) and encourage them to go on to follow a career which utilises
these skills by demonstrating that they are both fun and relevant in day-to-day
life.
For more information on
TechFest, visit www.techfest.org.uk