Outreach

A lecturer showing students the shape and properties of a bubble

Staff and students from the Department of Mathematics work together to engage with communities outside the University.

Our outreach activities see members of the department, often supported by MathSoc students, visiting schools and colleges to entertain and inform students on a variety of mathematical topics.

Schools engagement

We offer the following talks and activites to interest and engage students and teachers - they can be tailored to different age groups, and made relevant to the appropriate syllabus.

  • Why study Mathematics?
  • Along Came a Spider: a pure mathematics talk on summing infinite series of numbers
  • The Mathematics of Soap Bubbles: the applications of mathematics in solving geometrical problems (can involve calculus). This activity is now available online.
  • Non-periodic tiling: Is it possible to tile an infinite plane with a pattern that never repeats? Uses ideas about symmetry and recursion.
  • Mathematics in Sport: why is geometry and mechanics important in many sporting activities? This activity using algebra and calculus to optimise motor racing strategy is available online.
  • Fractals: how should we calculate the dimension of a shape? Illustrates the application of fractions and/or logarithms to geometry.

We also offer recorded material from past events:

Please contact us on maths@aber.ac.uk for further details, or to enquire about other possible presentations.

Outreach hub

We have a variety of resources available for teachers, students and parents/guardians online in the Outreach Hub. These materials, aimed at a variety of different age groups, include worksheets, projects, challenges, research topics, puzzles, lesson materials and more.