Day of Mathematics
An exciting mix of competitions, lectures and interactive activities awaits local school students interested in mathematics at the annual "Day of Mathematics".
The Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science offers a wide range of diverse offerings for interested students as well as for motivated teachers. These offers can provide an insight into university research and everyday university life and also serve to create and maintain connections between school and university students.
The Day of Mathematics at Heidelberg University
The Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science has hosted the “Day of Mathematics” in cooperation with the Heidelberg University of Education since 2008. Local schools can participate in this event by pre-registering teams of up to 5 students each from the lower, middle, and upper grades. Students from these three levels will be offered a diversified program tailored to their needs. In the morning, the students can look forward to an exciting mix of university lectures.
The last couple of Days of Mathematics featured, among other things, the following lectures:
- “What does Santa Claus do in the summer? Euler graphs in house construction”
- “Coding theory and linear codes”
- “Concrete Art and Mathematics - Visualizing and Interpreting”
- “From Straight Line Equations to Integer Linear Programs”
The Competition
The program for the “Day of Mathematics” also includes a competition. Here, tasks have to be completed in teamwork that require creative solutions. The solutions submitted are being checked during the course of the day so the winners can be announced in the afternoon. The winners will receive exciting prizes - in the past, for example, the winners have been awarded group trips to the Mathematikum in Giessen or to other interesting destinations.
Mathematics for everyone
In the afternoon, the younger students will engage in mathematical crafts, such as the construction of platonic solids. For middle school students, there is a mathematics course that includes numerous hands-on and interactive exhibits that will allow them to experience problems from many different areas of pure and applied mathematics. Senior students will gain insight into the study program mathematics at the faculty, provided by university students. They will also have the opportunity to engage in a discussion and ask their questions. To the accompanying teachers, the “Day of Mathematics” is an opportunity to chat with representatives of the university as well as their colleagues from around the region. This even has its own time slot in the program. Over the past decade, the “Day of Mathematics” has evolved into a well-established and very popular event in the Rhine-Neckar region.
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