CREATE Math Summer Camp

ABOUT US

As math educators with Montana Tech we are committed to helping girls reach their full potential by providing them the tools to succeed. Many girls make a choice at the beginning of high school not to continue their education in mathematics, effectively closing the doors on many potential careers in science and technology. One of the explanations for this gap is that girls see themselves as creative people and don’t see math as an outlet for their creativity  

OUR GOAL

The CREATE Math Summer Camp aims to encourage girls to study mathematics in high school by giving them a glimpse of the creative side of mathematics. We plan to host a two week camp designed for 5th through 8th grade girls and will be led by an all female faculty. During the camp, we will focus on helping students connect a creative pursuit they enjoy to mathematics.

This year, we are going to look at the mathematics of origami and paper art. Girls will have the opportunity to create origami paper sculptures and origami jewelry. We would like to charge only $15 per camper for the two week session in order to make it affordable for all girls in our community. Unfortunately, this does not cover the costs of running the camp.

WHERE WILL YOUR DONATIONS GO

• $15 buys jewelry making supplies for one camper
• $25 pays for the acrylic sealer used to preserve the origami creations
• $50 Provides 3000 sheets of origami paper.
• $170 buys a paper making kit
• $250 provides lunch for up to 7 campers for each day of the camp
• $800 pays the salary for one of our undergraduate student camp counselors

PROVEN SUCCESS

In 2014, with a grant from the Mathematical Association of America we hosted a camp that focused on the mathematics of music. During the first week, we taught the girls the basic mathematics connected to concepts like chords, time signatures, and harmonies. Girls spent the second week creating their own musical compositions on Garage Band. We brought in a variety of speakers and artists during that time to discuss how mathematics connected to their work in music. The final day of the program was a recital and the girls invited family and friends to hear their compositions. After the program, we asked the girls the following question: “Did participating in this program change how you feel about studying mathematics? If so, how?” Here are some of their answers:

• Yes, because when I work with fractions I instantly think of music.
• Yes, because when I used to think of math I thought about school math and now I think about math camp!
• Yes, it kind of clicked for me.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

By donating you can make the CREATE Math Camp accessible to all girls in Butte by allowing us to keep the price to $15 per camper (the price of the t-shirt). With your support we can help a whole new generation of girls in Butte embrace math creatively!

Any comments, questions, or concerns? Please feel free to send us an email at lbattle@mtech.edu.

Please help us spread the word! Share this project on social media, by email and tell your friends!