MATH CIRCLE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS 2018-19

Unofficial schedule

Classic Math Circle Problems

Dates: Thursdays, 3:30-4:30pm, 9/20-10/18 (5 weeks)

Suggested Ages: 5-7

Knights and Liars, open questions, story problems, pattern making and breaking, explorations of infinity, proofs, and more. We will have fun with these classic math circle activities as students develop the mathematical-thinking skills of asking questions, forming conjectures, testing conjectures, and generally seeking the underlying structure of things.

Category Theory

Dates: Thursdays, 3:30-4:45pm, 10/25-12/6 (6 weeks, 75-minute sessions, 7.5 hours total, no class on Thanksgiving)

Suggested Ages: 10-14

Mathematician Eugenia Cheng describes category theory as “the mathematics of mathematics.” Inspired by Cheng’s book “How to Bake Pi,” we will do activities that use abstract mathematics to see, understand, and generalize the defining structure of things. And by “things” I mean mathematical things, logical things, and social phenomena. Visit her website (eugeniacheng.com) for a preview.

Queen Dido Problems

Dates: Thursdays, 3:30-4:45pm, 1/24-3/21 (8 weeks, 75-minute sessions, 10 hours total, no class on 3/7)

Suggested Ages: 13+

In this course, students will explore real mathematics problems from ancient history. These will include Queen Dido problems, Zeno’s Paradox, and ancient inheritance problems. We’ll do the math and put the problems in their historical contexts. We may dabble in a few mythological problems as well.  Mathematical concepts will include pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and some calculus, but pre-requisite knowledge of these topics is not required.

Polyominoes and Functions

Dates: Thursdays, 3:30-4:30pm, 4/4-5/16 (6 weeks)

Suggested Ages: 8-10

Polyominoes are a hands-on geometry activity that develop students’ thinking about classification, combinatorics, symmetry, and more. We will also study characteristics of functions via the book Funville Adventures (or via extensions of this book if the students have already used it) and function machines in order to develop algebraic reasoning skills.

(registration information should be posted within a week)