I’ve contributed to Maths in Museums training events hosted by Maths Week Scotland for a few years now, and it’s great to see both the increasing number of museums and galleries taking part, and the increasing enthusiasm with which they do so.
Something which people in learning and education roles in the heritage sector cite as a barrier to development of maths-focused activities and resources is a lack of confidence in being able to spot the mathematics that’s all around them, but they do recognise that it involves far more than just counting and calculating.
That’s my contribution to Maths Week Scotland’s training event at the end of July 2024: I spent a little time helping to expand participants’ understanding of what mathematics is, supported with some examples from my experiences working with cultural organisations. We investigated some of the tell-tell signs that maths is hiding just out of site, either in the shadows around an object or buried deep within its story. We then set aside a short period in which participants put their new-found insights to work, after which we re-grouped for them to share what they’d discovered with just a little digging.
Maths Week Scotland also offered to cover a small amount of my consultancy time to provide extra support to some organisations a few weeks later.
You can see some of the highlights from schools that participated in Maths Week Scotland 2024 here: https://mathsweek.scot/news/maths-week-2024-tales-highlights