Sonia Kovalevsky Day is a fun-filled day of mathematics with hands-on workshops and talks for middle and high school students and their teachers. Originally started and funded by the Association for Women in Mathematics, the purpose of the day is to encourage young women to continue their study of mathematics and to assist the teachers of mathematics students. The Dartmouth Math Department hosts this event annually with the goal of inspiring young students to pursue degrees in the mathematical sciences and to honor female mathematicians such as Sonia Kovalevsky, who paved the way with her groundbreaking work and was a strong proponent of higher education for women.
We are delighted to hold this empowering event in person once again. Join us for a day of networking, mentoring, and fun!
Sponsored by:
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9:00–9:45 |
Breakfast and Icebreaker |
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9:45 |
Welcome |
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10:00–11:00 |
Workshop 1: The Math of “Spot It!” Abstract: Spot It! is an easy-to-learn picture-spotting game with interesting mathematics hidden in its design. We'll explore how finite projective geometry can be used to design this game so that its enjoyment and difficulty are optimized. We'll also create our own miniature versions of the game to take home! (Workshop Leaders: Beth Anne Castellano, Lily McBeath, Ben Shapiro) |
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11:15–12:15 |
Workshop 2: Mobius Madness Abstract: In this interactive, hands-on workshop, we will use some very simple tools: paper, some tape, and scissors, to explore the mathematical field of topology. We will learn to imagine four-dimensional shapes and learn about some very fun and counterintuitive shapes. We will also play some higher-dimensional tic-tac-toe! (Workshop Leaders: Rohan Kapoor, Friedrich Bauermeister, Salim Tayou) |
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12:15–1:15 |
Lunch |
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1:15–2:15 |
Workshop 3: Building the Platonic Solids Abstract: The five Platonic solids, the tetrahedron, octahedron, cube, icosahedron, and dodecahedron, are beautiful symmetric geometric objects studied since antiquity, and which find their way into the structure of crystals, plankton, and viruses. We will build the Platonic solids, explore their symmetries, and discover why there are only 5 of them. (Workshop Leaders: Asher Auel, Matt Ellison, Alejandro Basilio Galvan Perez-Ilzarbe) |
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2:30–3:00 |
Social Activity (Activity Leaders: Tom Zdyrski, Tracy Moloney) |
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3:00 |
Evaluations and Closing |