The Rice University School Mathematics Project (RUSMP) and the Rice Athletics Department welcomed middle school students to the Rice campus for Rice‘s inaugural spring break Math-Letics camp, March 11-15, 2019. During the morning sessions, students explored the campus and participated in games as well as in activities that complemented the afternoon mathematics activities.

Each afternoon focused on a different math topic from the Pythagorean Theorem which came alive on the grounds of Rice to the Four-Color Theorem investigation which began with a look at Jasper John’s Map (1961) and Target (1974). Students used their problem-solving skills to analyze the Kӧnigsberg Bridge problem and discovered that it was impossible to travel the seven bridges once and only once. Students also examined the idea of balance in Alexander Calder’s mobiles and experimented to discover Archimedes’ Law of the Lever. They applied what they learned to create their own mobiles. On the final afternoon of Math-Letics, students designed and created free-standing roller coasters using the engineering design process. When asked what they had learned about engineering, students agreed that “it is hard, it is fun; you can always make it better.”

Rice/NSF Robert Noyce Fellows (Grant No. 1556006) [Gail Hamilton (Pin Oak MS), Maren Haenicke (Northside HS), Patricia McMorris (Milby HS), Jason Ondruch (Westside HS), Ralph Polley (Houston Academy for International Studies), Fabiola Stroud and Kamil Safin (North Early College), and Lan Wu (Lamar HS)], under the direction of Anne Papakonstantinou, RUSMP Director, led the afternoon sessions.

One student commented enthusiastically that this was the “best spring break ever.” Another student said that “Math-Letics was an experience unlike any other spring break camp and will come back for years to come.” A third student commented that she loved “solving the puzzles and enjoyed the interesting discussions.”The Rice University School Mathematics Project (RUSMP) and the Rice Athletics Department welcomed middle school students to the Rice campus for Rice‘s inaugural spring break Math-Letics camp, March 11-15, 2019. During the morning sessions, students explored the campus and participated in games as well as in activities that complemented the afternoon mathematics activities.

A photo album from the camp is available here.