Scrapheap Showdown 2010 -- Moving on up!

On October 24th, twelve teams of 3 students each competed in the 6th annual Scrapheap Showdown.  Tufts University generously hosted us in the Cousens Gym.

This year's problem was probably our biggest challenge because the students needed 4 hours to complete it.  The challenge was to move up to 15 each of cocoons, marbles and/or bottle caps from a table top on the floor to a standing table.  Their machines couldn't come within 12 inches of the upper table.  There were three small targets on table -- students got point for landing on the table and many more points if they could land within the targets.  There were bonus points for moving multiple types of objects into the targets and for landing in multiple targets.

The winning team had three elevators (see right) leading up to ramps with openings directly over the desired targets.  Each elevator was operated by a counterweight on the far left end of the machine.  Students would load the items to move into the cup elevator close to the floor (on right), and then the student on the left would release the weight.

The pictures of all of the other teams, along with their projects are on this link:

Scrapheap photos

The Somerville Mathematics Fund was charted in 2000 to celebrate and encourage mathematics achievement in Somerville MA.  We run the annual Scrapheap challenge and family math nights along with awarding scholarships and teacher grants.

For more information or to make a donation, check out the math fund's website.

Scrapheap Showdown is Coming!!

This year’s Scrapheap Showdown is on October 24th at Cousens Gym in “the Cage.”’

To enter a team of three, go to www.somervillemathematicsfund.org and download the  application.

It is due on October 14th, so it is time to get started on putting together your team.

To be eligible to compete:

You need to live in Somerville.

You can not have graduated from high school.

You need to “fundraise” $75/team ($25 each) by the day of the competition.

We are working on a new problem -- exciting and as challenging as before.  So come ready to have fun and meet our challenge!

For information, contact voolich@gmail.com

Somerville Mathematics Fund Scholarship Winners

Press Release

9 June 2010

The Somerville Mathematics Fund, an Affiliate of Dollars for Scholars

contact: Erica Voolich, voolich@gmail.com 

The Somerville Mathematics Fund Recognizes Outstanding Mathematics Students from Three High Schools

The Somerville Mathematics Fund is pleased to announce the winners of their renewable college mathematics scholarships.  The selection committee was impressed with the quality of this year’s applicants and pleased with the generosity of our donors who made it possible to give a record six scholarships.  At the Somerville High School’s award night Erica Voolich, president of The Somerville Mathematics Fund, commented on the outstanding achievements of Deepika Bhargo, Paulo Filipe Dourado, Nelson Moreira and Theodor Rich.  Then at Buckingham, Brown and Nichols, Voolich recognized the outstanding work of Kathleen Oshima, followed a couple days later she went to Chapel Hill - Chauncy Hall to recognize the outstanding work of Robert Merrell.  All are planning on pursuing mathematics or a mathematics-related major in college.  Each scholarship is renewable for up to four years based on performance.

The Somerville Mathematics Fund, an affiliate of the national scholarship organization Dollars for Scholars, was chartered in 2000 to celebrate and encourage achievement in mathematics in the city of Somerville, Massachusetts. Since it's founding, it has awarded $138,000 in mathematics scholarships to outstanding Somerville students.  Next fall, The Somerville Mathematics Fund will be seeking applications from teachers who teach in the city of Somerville who would like funding for classroom mathematics activities.  In October, the Math Fund will also be seeking high school students to compete in the sixth Scrapheap Showdown and will be celebrating their 10th anniversary.  For more  information, to volunteer, or to make a tax-deductible contribution, please contact Erica Voolich (voolich@gmail.com) or go to www.somervillemathematicsfund.org.

SPROUTS, a wonderful place for exploring math and science in Somerville -- check it out!

by Alec Resnick 

Sprout is an educational nonprofit which is starting up 

its first big season of programs in the next few weeks.

You can find a full listing at the programs;theprograms 

as well as more information about their open studios in 

Davis Square ourstudios.  What follows are some short 

descriptions of their math- and science-focused programs 

appropriate for both youth and adults in the area.  

Significant financial support is available, so if you'd 

like to make arrangements (or if you have any other 

questions), feel free to email Alec Resnick at
alec@thesprouts.org.

- EXPLORING MATH THROUGH COMPUTATION, AND VICE VERSA
turtlegeometry is a thirteen-week, hands-on seminar 

exploring how we can actively and personally explore 

questions of computer science, topology, and 

differential geometry using the programming languages 

Ruby, Processing, and Scratch.  In particular, this 

course will focus on exploring and unifying the 

aesthetic and computational aspects of these fields. 

No formal background in computer science or math beyond 

basic comfort with algebra is required.  There will be 

three tracks: one for educators and parents, one for youth, 

and one for a general audience.  Email Alec at
alec@thesprouts.org; if you have any questions or check 

out the seminar site turtlegeometry; for more details.

- ECOMODDING YOUR HOME eventbrite is a two month
seminar focused on identifying and implementing simple 

strategies to reduce electricity consumption. In this 

seminar, we'll use a special power strip developed at 

sprout. This power strip enables you to see how and 

when your appliances use electricity and ensure they 

only use electricity when you want them to--whether 

that means turning off your TV's standby mode 

while you're at work or dimming your lamp when its 

sunny outside.  This is accomplished by programming 

the microcontrollers which control the power strip--

a skill participants will be introduced to through 

this seminar.  No background in electronics or 

programming is required.

- FLUTES AND WAVES flutesandwaves is a weekend 

workshop in which participants will build their own 

flutes and begin to explore the acoustical qualities 

of those instruments.  Interested participants will 

have the chance to exlpore how their flute design 

affects their instrument's acoustics using a spectrum 

analyzer and working to understand the underlying 

physics of what's going on inside the flute. 

Instrument design is an amazing mix of craft and 

science--despite how much we know, we don't know 

much about how the finer points of instruments' 

sound work. This is a two-day workshop and studio 

(10AM-4PM on two, consecutive Saturdays) exploring 

how flutes are made, and how their design controls 

what sorts of sounds they can make.  This workshop 

is appropriate for people coming at it from the 

musical, acoustical, or simply interested perspectives. 

Email shaunalynn@thesprouts.org if you have any 

questions.

- DIGITAL GARDENING dg.eventbrite is a one day 

workshop coordinated by Keith Simmons, co-designer 

of the Wireplant microcontroller kit. Hosted at the 

MIT Museum, this workshop leads participants through 

the basic electronics and practical skills needed 

to understand and assemble an Arduino-controlled 

moisture sensor which lets you explore sensing 

and measurement in gardening.

- SIMULATION AND NATURE IN DESIGN nervous.eventbrite

is a thirteen-week, project-driven seminar exploring 

how computation and simulation can be used to take 

inspiration from the processes and phenomena of the 

natural world to produce physical and virtual

objects. Facilitated by Jesse Louis-Rosenberg 

(co-founder of the Nervous System n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com 

design studio), this seminar will explore how we can 

understand natural forms—from leaf venation 

to the growth of coral—with computational tools.  

Email jesse@n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com if you have any 

questions or check out the seminar site 

n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/education for more details.

East Somerville Community School's Math Night

On March 26th, I had the pleasure of attending this year's East Somerville Community School Math event. While teacher and organizer, Linda Wiegenfeld, was teaching the parents and answering their questions, their children were playing mathematical games led by other teacher volunteers.

The parents were interested in learning other ways to approach topics such as division and in having their questions answered about math topics they never learned while in school, such as "outliers." It was interesting to see parents who had grown-up in other countries approached division with different algorithms than those of us who grew up in the US schools. Meanwhile, Linda Wiegenfeld was teaching yet another way to approach division, one that was more intuitive and representative of what is actually happening when you divide.

After joining the parents group for a while, I also visited the rooms where the students were playing mathematical games and enjoyed a game of Mancala with a couple of girls after watching students energetically playing a game of "baseball" using dice.

The event ended with everyone eating pizza, generously donated by the Bickoff family. Linda Wiegenfeld was a Somerville Mathematics Fund teacher grant winner who used her grant money to support this event and to buy the games that she also uses in her classroom at ESCS.

Be sure to read Delia Marshall's article on this event in the Somerville Journal.

Common Core Standards

There is a push by the governors from 48 of the states to have a coordinated curriculum k-12 in mathematics and English-Language Arts. To do this they have commissioned the writing of the Common Core which were released for public review in March.

The "Common Core" is worth your reading and considering what might be the expectations for our students and children in the not too distant future.
The NCTM is one of the organizations who has taken the time to review and write comments about the contents, sequencing, expectations, etc of the mathematics Common Core. You might want to read the NCTM comments.

Somerville’s Kennedy School celebrate Pi - Somerville, Massachusetts 02144 - Somerville Journal

Somerville’s Kennedy School celebrate Pi - Somerville, Massachusetts 02144 - Somerville Journal

Photos article and photos by Delia Marshall for Pi Night 2010 at the Kennedy School.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/education/x427982701/Somerville-s-Kennedy-School-celebrate-Pi

Kennedy School sixth grader John Kalageropoulos and volunteer Alanna Connors record data on the circumference and the diameter of an object at one of more than a dozen stations set up in the school’s gym on Pi Night. Sponsored by the Somerville Mathematics Fund, these mathematical festivities occurred on March 12 in anticipation of the date that matches the first three digits of “pi.”

Pi Night participants and volunteers listen as winners are announced at the end of an evening of games and activities celebrating the concept of “pi.” Thirty full-sized Table Talk pies were given as prizes at this event, which took place on March 12, the last weeknight before the date “3-14.”

Somerville High School juniors Samantha Dudley and Kathryn Long help out at Pi Night at the Kennedy School on March 12. Students who visited the “Mystery Box” table tried to guess the circumference of various jar lids without being able to see them. Nearly 40 SHS students volunteered for this middle-school math event, sponsored by the Somerville Math Fund.

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