Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2011 - (Page 12)

After the 2010 All Girls Math Tournament, the OCMC saw a 150 percent increase in the number of girls participating in the math circle. we attracted more volunteers. In the end, about 20 volunteers came out for the tournament, where more than 100 students spent a fun afternoon sharing the joy of mathematics. Most of our volunteers had participated in MATHCOUNTS in middle school. MATHCOUNTS is a program for students in grades six to eight, but because most middle schools in Orange County have only grades seven and eight, most sixth graders don’t get to participate. To offer younger students an opportunity to experience MATHCOUNTS while giving older students a chance to warm up for the real event, we created a MATHCOUNTS scrimmage. The National Association of Math Circles lists existing math circles in 31 states. Visit their website to see if there is a program near you: www.mathcircles.org/Wiki_ExistingMathCirclePrograms. Note that these programs have a variety of a liations: many are a liated with universities, some are based at schools, others are run by parents, and OCMC, of course, is run by students. If no math circle exists in your area, consider doing what Johnny did: start your own! Circle in a Box, available in both print and PDF forms, o ers suggestions for starting and sustaining a math circle, and even includes materials for math circle presentations, sample grant proposals, and templates for other administrative tasks. Want to Join a Math Circle? The 2010 New Year’s Invitational and MATHCOUNTS Scrimmage attracted about 100 students, and the Countdown Round was won by a fifth grader! At that event, during a conversation with a group of parents, one mother told me, “My daughter is very good at math, but not too many girls at her school are interested.” Over the years, I had noticed the small number of girls at all levels of math competitions. So for our next event, I proposed the 2010 All-Girls Math Tournament for girls in grades three through eight. Female OCMC volunteers overwhelmingly supported the idea, and many of them stepped up to take leadership for organizing the tournament. Highlights included a keynote speech by Dr. Natalia Komarova, a math professor from UC Irvine, and Lollipop Riddle Contests, where students worked in teams to solve math puzzles related to the number Johnny works with students in the Santa Ana Math Club, which was created with the help of OCMC. Download the PDF http://minerva.msri.org/ﬁles/circleinabox.pdf order the Book www.ams.org/bookstore-getitem/item=mcl-2 12 imagine Mar/Apr 2011 http://www.mathcircles.org/Wiki_ExistingMathCirclePrograms http://minerva.msri.org/files/circleinabox.pdf http://www.ams.org/bookstore-getitem/item=mcl-2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2011

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2011
Contents
Big Picture
In My Own Words
Problem Solving
Orange County Math Circle
Number Theory
Count Me In
National Mathematics Competitions
Math at the Science Fair
Just My Speed
MathPath
When Origami Meets Rocket Science
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Making a Difference
High School Options for Gifted Students
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2011