2022 Festival: NMF@NCSciFest
Thank you to all who joined the National Math Festival on Saturday, April 23, 2022 for fun, free events held online for all ages as part of the 2022 North Carolina Science Festival (opens new window) (NCSciFest)! You can find the event schedule and full details below.
2022 NMF@NCSciFest
The 2022 NMF@NCSciFest was free and open to the public, with live, online activities designed for all ages, from very young children to teens and adults.
We invited you to celebrate the fun, beauty, and power of math through games, puzzles, uplifting and intriguing talks, book readings, and hands-on activities. All 2022 NMF@NCSciFest events took place on Zoom, and could be joined from a computer or mobile device from anywhere in the world.
All were welcome to register for these events, with residents of North Carolina particularly encouraged to celebrate with us. Registration was free via Eventbrite.
2022 Festival Organizers and Partners
The National Math Festival is organized by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) in cooperation with the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) and the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath).
The 2022 National Math Festival is a program of the North Carolina Science Festival (opens new window) (NCSciFest). Our Spring 2022 activities are presented in cooperation with North Carolina Central University.
Schedule of Events: 2022 NMF @ NCSciFest
All events took place online (via Zoom) on Saturday, April 23, 2022 from 10am-5pm US Eastern Time (ET). Those who registered for one or all 2022 NMF activities via Eventbrite received full details on how to connect on the event day. Recordings of some events will also be made available in late April 2022.
Event Accessibility Information
All events featured closed captioning and moderated chat. For additional questions, contact us at [email protected].
10-11:30 am ET on Zoom: Natural Math - Snowflakes & Fractals: Fun for PreK and Beyond
Ages 2-7. Young children are warmly invited to make…snowflakes in April? Yes, they’re fractals. Come have fun with this paper-cutting activity with your new friends from Natural Math.
SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEED: Paper, safety scissors.
1-2:15 pm ET on Zoom: Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival Presents: Prime Cubes
Ages 8-13. Armed with only your understanding of prime numbers, play against your friends to to find the best way to fill in our colorful cube. Sign up to play Prime Cubes, a fun brain teaser puzzle, with groups of fellow kids to match your wits together in team-based, cooperative creative problem-solving! Hosted by the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival.
Play Prime Cubes Online (opens new window)
1-2:15 pm ET on Zoom: Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival Presents: River Crossings
Ages 8-13. What do a goat, a cabbage, and a wolf have in common? Hint: if you are playing River Crossings, you cannot leave them alone in pairs on the riverbank, or… what might happen? Sign up to play River Crossings with groups of fellow kids to match your wits together in team-based, cooperative creative problem-solving! Hosted by the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival.
Play River Crossings Online (opens new window)
2:30-3:30 pm ET on Zoom: Mathical Live Author Reading: Shelley Pearsall, ALL OF THE ABOVE
Ages 8-13. Bring your tetrahedron-building supplies… and join us live for a reading from this multiple award-winning middle-grade novel about a group of kids who set out to break the world’s tetrahedron-building record! Based on a true story. Featuring Mathical award-winning author Shelley Pearsall.
SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEED: To make a tetrahedron, bring paper, scissors, scotch tape, colored pencils, and print a few of these tetrahedron shapes ahead of time (opens new window).
4-5 pm ET on Zoom: Happy Numbers — with Dr. Pamela E. Harris (Williams College)
Ages 14 through adults. When she was a child, Dr. Pamela E. Harris used to ride city buses in Mexico. Whenever you ride a bus and pay the fare, you get a small paper ticket. The tickets have a serial number on them. As a kid she would add the digits together. This was the start of her interest in a deep mathematical subject — happy numbers. Join her as she brings us up to date in her math research on this (happy) subject!
SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEED: Paper, pencil, calculator.
How to Participate Online via Zoom
NEW TO ZOOM? Before joining a Zoom event on a computer or mobile device, you can download the Zoom app from the Zoom Download Center: https://zoom.us/download (opens new window). This app is free to download.
Otherwise, you will be prompted to download and install Zoom when you click a join link. (This may take a few minutes to complete, so it is advisable to do this at least 15 minutes before the event start time.)
You can also join a test meeting anytime to familiarize yourself with Zoom: https://zoom.us/test (opens new window)
For assistance the day of the event, please contact [email protected].
What to Expect at the 2022 NMF@NCSciFest Zoom Events
The 2022 NMF@NCSciFest online events took place Saturday, April 23, 2022 via Zoom. All events were free and open to the public from anywhere in the world. Residents of the state of North Carolina (USA) were especially encouraged to attend as part of the NC SciFest activities.
At NMF@NCSciFest, you could connect in joyful math play and exploration with others from the comfort of home. You could opt in to joining on camera or audio, via moderated text chat, or simply watch and follow along at home.
The NMF is a youth-centered environment, with moderated Q&A chat by trained adult moderators, and activities for ages 2-4, 5-7, 8-10, 11-13, 14-18 through adults. Participants under age 13 are asked to join with adult supervision; activities for our youngest audience members should be done together as a family.
Questions? Contact [email protected] or find us on Twitter @natmathfestival (opens new window) or Facebook (opens new window).
Our Sponsors
The 2022 NMF@NCSciFest events are made possible through the generous support of our sponsors.
