Math Outreach & SK Days
Mathematics is for Everyone
The Association for Women in Mathematics knows it is important to have a presence at math and STEM fairs
- to celebrate mathematics, and
- to serve as role models for women doing math.
AWM strives to help change the dialogue around what it means to be a mathematician; as women in math, we know it matters that we are visible to young women and men to let them know that math is for everyone.
Image created by Ilana Spiegel, and used with her gracious permission.
The National Math Festival happens in May of ODD years in Washington, D.C. The Association for Women in Mathematics has a table top display at this one day event where we engage the attendees with mathematics through experiential learning.
Volunteers Needed. We always welcome volunteers to help at the booth for all or part of the day! This is a fantastic outreach activity for pre-service teachers, AWM student chapters, and other AWM members who want to reconnect with the joys of learning mathematics.
Organizers. Event organizers develop the math activities, any manipulatives or other materials, and design the booth set-up. Organizers and their team work to put together an educationally sound progression of examples to engage and challenge event participants, and train volunteers on how to engage learners with this activity.
Interested in Participating? Contact organizer Tai Melcher at melcher@virginia.edu.
The USA Science & Engineering Festival happens in April of EVEN years in Washington, D.C. The Association for Women in Mathematics has a table top display at this one day event where we engage the attendees with mathematics through experiential learning.
Volunteers Needed. We always welcome volunteers to help at the booth for all or part of the day! This is a fantastic outreach activity for pre-service teachers, AWM student chapters, and other AWM members who want to reconnect with the joys of learning mathematics.
Organizers. Event organizers develop the math activities, any manipulatives or other materials, and design the booth set-up. Organizers and their team work to put together an educationally sound progression of examples to engage and challenge event participants, and train volunteers on how to engage learners with this activity.
Interested in Participating? Contact organizer Tai Melcher at melcher@virginia.edu.
For more than 20 years Sonia Kovalevsky Days (SK Days) have been organized by AWM members and held at colleges and universities throughout the country. AWM does not currently have a grant to fund these events but some institutions organize and fund the SK Days locally.
SK Days consist of a program of workshops, talks, and problem-solving competitions for female high school and middle school students and their teachers, both women and men.
The Purpose of SK Days:
- to encourage young women to continue their study of mathematics;
- to assist them with the sometimes difficult transitions between middle school and high school mathematics and between high school and college mathematics;
- to assist the teachers of women mathematics students; and
- to encourage colleges and universities to develop more extensive cooperation with middle schools and high schools in their area.
History of SK Grants and Events.
Next Steps. AWM is working to build an SK Day Committee that would encourage AWM members and AWM Student Chapters to host SK Days, provide sample programs of events and outreach materials, share best practices across the community, and connect members with well-curated, age appropriate materials when needed. AWM is also building a new partnership with the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, and will be sharing information with how the AWM community can collaborate with this organization.
Interested in being part of this? Email AWM at awm@awm-math.org.
AWM gets several requests for math outreach events each year: from Girl Scout Expos to STEM celebrations, events want math (and women!) to be present. As always, the success of such requests depends on the willingness and enthusiasm of the AWM membership (spoiler alert: it’s huge).
Process. To invite AWM to participate, we invite you to (1) Check out the AWM Student Chapters page and see about inviting chapters near you, and (2) Email AWM Executive Director at ed.admin@awm-math.org. We will reach out to local members to determine if there is interest in participating, and will put those people directly in contact with you.
Unfortunately, AWM does not have funds set aside for participation at such invited events, but luckily, math is cheap. :-)
Images of the AWM Exhibit at the 2017 National Math Festival, Washington, D.C.