The Math Mardi Gras, a unique Morgan Hill community event,
attracted more than 300 students and their families to the
Community and Cultural Center Sunday, to spend an afternoon engaged
in teaching and learning math concepts, solving puzzles and having
a whole lot of fun
The Math Mardi Gras, a unique Morgan Hill community event, attracted more than 300 students and their families to the Community and Cultural Center Sunday, to spend an afternoon engaged in teaching and learning math concepts, solving puzzles and having a whole lot of fun. This annual event was sponsored by the American Institute of Mathematics.
Local students, ranging from grades 2 through 12, participated in a day of interactive math activities and friendly competitions. Twenty-one booths, color-coded by grade level, were set up around the building, each with a different math challenge. Participants moved to the various booths, which were staffed by trained student volunteers, and engaged in hands-on activities that taught particular math concepts. By answering a few questions that showed they understood the concept, the participants earned a string of colored Mardi Gras beads, worth one point. Those who wanted more of a challenge answered questions on an “expert” worksheet, and if completed correctly, earned a coveted string of black beads, worth two points. At the end of the afternoon, the participants with the most points were crowned Math Mardi Gras kings and queens.
The booths were just part of the fun. The main room of the center was a bustle of activity with Math Jeopardy contests running continuously on stage, and participants of all ages competing in the preliminary rounds of SET, Sudoku and Rubik’s cube. For those visitors new to any of the games, a number of “how to” tables were available, each staffed with enthusiastic volunteers who introduced the newcomers to the rules and strategies of each game.
At 3 p.m., all activity booths were shut down, beads were turned in for counting, and attention was focused on the stage for the game finals. Three final rounds of Math Jeopardy, with game show host Dave Holmstrom, energized the room as contestants worked to be the first to hit the buzzer and correctly answer each question. For Rubik’s cube, the seven students who successfully solved the puzzle in less than two minutes in the preliminaries, competed on stage in the finals. Sudoku boards were set up for each of the three finalist teams to see who would be the first to correctly fill in all the squares. The finals competition closed with a fast-paced game of SET.
This is the fourth year that AIM has hosted the Math Mardi Gras and Lori Mains, AIM Outreach Coordinator and the event’s planning committee chair, credits its continuing success to the numerous volunteers, which included students from the Future Business Leaders of America club at Live Oak High School, headed by Kiki Namaguchi; Math Club members from both Sobrato and Live Oak; and students who participate in AIM’s Morgan Hill math programs. In addition to these 96 students who staffed the activity booths and the “how to” tables, graded worksheets, and entertained pre-schoolers; more than 20 adult community members, many from the Morgan Hill branch of the American Association of University Women, participated in the planning and hosting of the event. The time, energy, and enthusiasm of these volunteers, both students and adults, made the fourth annual Morgan Hill Math Mardi Gras a tremendous success.
2nd-3rd grade King and Queen
Desmond Phillips, age 7, 2nd grade Crossroads Christian
tied with Andrew Lyle, age 8, 3rd grade Nordstrom
Karissa Lyle, age 8, 3rd grade Charter
tied with Gabriela Nerhood, 9, 3rd grade Paradise
4th-5th grade King and Queen
Alex Holmstrom, 5th grade Jackson
Marina Bireley, 5th grade El Toro
tied with Raya Kavosh, 4th grade Los Paseos
6th-8th grade King and Queen
Justin Lyle, 6th grade Charter
Heather Sjostedt, 7th grade Britton
