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Celebrate the Fun, Beauty, and Power of Math at the 2017 National Math Festival in Washington, D.C. on April 22
The nation's largest public celebration of mathematics will host more than 80 free events with mathematicians, magicians, musicians and more
The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), will once again bring the excitement of the National Math Festival to Washington, D.C. The Festival will fill the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on April 22 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. with more than 80 interactive exhibits, performances, films, athletic games, and lectures by some of the most fascinating mathematicians of our time. The National Math Festival is organized by MSRI in cooperation with the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) and the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath).
“The National Math Festival truly offers something for everyone -- from the math behind eyesight, jazz, drag racing, or black holes to stand-up math comedy, a children’s musical, and the math behind Google’s PageRank algorithm,” said MSRI Director Dr. David Eisenbud. “Visitors will be given unique opportunities to experience math in new, exciting and unexpected ways.”
During this year’s National Math Festival attendees will be able to:
- Combine athleticism with a mastery of factoring to compete in the Young People’s Project Flagway™ Game.
- Explore unsolved math problems, get stumped by expert puzzle-makers, peek into the secrets of math and magic, and test their wits in strategy games from Amazons to Santorini to Chocolate Fix at the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival Presents: A Celebration of Mind room.
- Navigate giant mazes, design a roller coaster, slice shapes with lasers, and more at the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath)’s carnival of interactive, hands-on activities.
- Meet the Science Cheerleaders and gain a deeper understanding of the science, technology, engineering, and math inherent in cheerleading. Bring your sneakers and join the Math Cheer Clinic!
- Learn how “How to Bake π" with Dr. Eugenia Cheng of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
- Explore connections between mathematics, physics, and DNA with Dr. Mariel Vazquez of the University of California, Davis.
- Navigate the mathematics Katherine Johnson used to send John Glenn into orbit with Dr. Talitha Washington of Howard University.
- Bring your preschooler to make a fractal cat on a Math Playdate with Dr. Maria Droujkova of Natural Math.
Download the NMF 2017 mobile app to find the most up-to-date information about the Festival including a full schedule of events, event descriptions and age tracks, presenter and organization bios. The app is available now for Apple, Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry devices.
In addition to fostering discovery in pure mathematics among professionals, MSRI invests in many initiatives to encourage the public’s understanding and appreciation for math. Programs include Numberphile, the most popular informal math channel on YouTube, the attention-getting documentary Navajo Math Circles and The Mathical Book Prize.
The National Math Festival is made possible by the generous support of individuals and organizations that share the Festival’s mission to inspire an appreciation for the fun, beauty and power of math among individuals of all ages. 2017 Festival sponsors include: The Simons Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Google.org, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences, Eric and Wendy Schmidt, Renaissance Technologies, the Kavli Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Science Foundation, Qualcomm, and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.
MSRI is proud to join the American Mathematical Society, the Association for Women in Mathematics, the Mathematical Association of America, the National Association of Mathematicians, the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics in promoting awareness of mathematics through public programming including National Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, More Math!, and the National Math Festival.
For more information on the National Math Festival, visit www.nationalmathfestival.org, connect on Facebook, or follow the Festival on Twitter @NatMathFestival and Instagram @NatMathFestival.
