It all added up for Dundalk Institute Maths Week

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) were extremely excited to recently celebrate Maths Week 2023. This is a nationwide event that has the aim of promoting Maths for all.

The week’s events are all about creating positive attitudes towards Mathematics and understanding the power of Maths and its impact on the world.

To celebrate the recent Maths Week 2023, DkIT Mathematics and Engineering staff and students ran several on campus activities from daily lunch-time puzzles, student talks which included, ‘Why is the round moon square?’ by DkIT lecturer Shane Dowdall and a Movie night which was organised by the new Google Developer Student Club.

On the Saturday on campus DkIT staff and Students were joined by members of the Maths Week Ireland team for Maths in the Garden.

DkIT invited local children and their parents for a fun filled day of puzzles, tricks, balloons and bubbles and kept both parents and children engaged with mind-bending maths problems.

However, DkIT did not just contain their love of Maths to the DkIT campus, the Institute’s Mathematics staff hit the road and completed over 15 school visits to Primary and Secondary schools across the region.

These visits included activities and talks ranging from ‘Maths is All Around Us’, ‘Bouncing Ball’ activity, ‘Maths Detective’ workshops to the ‘Maths Behind Selfie's’.

The Primary schools visited were, Kilsaran National School, Grammar Junior School, Scoil Mhuire na Trocaire, Ardee, Gaelscoil Lorgan, St Fursey's, St Mary's Boys National School, Castleblayney and Primrose Hill National School.

The Secondary school talks saw the team visit St Vincents, Dundalk Grammar, Chu Chulainn and Our Ladys Secondary School, where DkIT Mathematicians gave talks on careers in Maths and Data Science.

DkIT even took their love of Maths to the Marshes Shopping Centre where staff and students shared Maths fun which included, 3D Bubble Shapes Activity, Mathematical Magic Cards, Multiplication with Playdough and Micro Python Games

During Maths Week, DkIT also hosted a DojoMór on campus which attracted over 75 youths between the ages of 7 – 17 years old, who took part in a free computer coding event which was also held on the Saturday. DkIT had 16 mentors on the day managing 6 different technology rooms. The mentor breakdown was 13 current students (six of which were first time mentors), one past student, two staff and a parent.

This year’s event was made special by the inclusion of a varied and entertaining series of Maths puzzles and demonstrations which were put together as part of Maths Week Ireland.

These Maths conundrums proved to be a great hit with those attending no matter what the age.

The online resources from this event will be available to view for free for the next month at www.dojomor.ie.

DkIT’s regular Coderdojo will return on the 11th of November, check out www.coderdojo.com and search/join Dundalk to get added to the Institute’s mailing list.