Meet the Math: changing the equation

By AIDA KARIM
news@readthereporter.com

You’ve heard of your run-of-the-mill math competitions plenty of times. But how do we get kids to actually enjoy and connect with the subject? Infinity Squared has the answer.

On Sept. 5, Infinity Squared held its annual Meet the Math at the Carmel Clay Public Library, 425 E. Main St. Students from fourth to seventh grade took part in the math challenge event.

The Reporter spoke with Stephanie Tan and Draco Qiao, co-presidents of Infinity Squared and seniors at Carmel High School.

As a young child, Tan remembered attending her fair share of math competitions, and struggling through long tests with little to no “positive emotion.”

Tan told The Reporter Meet the Math was created to make math more accessible, inclusive, and fun for everyone involved.

According to Tan, the event started off with talking to each of the kids and getting comfortable with each other. The participants later went over problem sets, played math bingo, and shared snacks.

Qiao said unlike many traditional math organizations and competitions, they focus on the community.

“Through our partnership with Exponentia Prime, we try our best to support underserved communities in Indianapolis,” Qiao said. “We’ve cultivated a very strong relationship with them and they provide support for our events as well.”

Tan said Infinity Squared regularly hosts events similar to Meet the Math, at times reaching different audiences and offering different challenges.

“Last year, for example, we had a solely girls event,” Tan said. “We had a marathon event with solely puzzles, and we also had a Zionville event. They all are slightly different but similar in focusing on helping spread math enrichment.”

Tan said Infinity Squared also has chapters in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Their reach also extends internationally with chapters in Rwanda, Uzbekistan, Brazil, and Mexico.

“We provide them funding and prizes through our sponsors,” Tan said. “We help with problem writing and social media, and they get in contact with their local community spaces and host their events.”

 

 

Qiao said it’s important for every kid to have a good relationship with learning math.

“You need math for science. You need math for economics. You need math for basically any sort of social science, physical science, life science,” Qiao said. “Even for other things, you still need those sorts of deductive skills – and these math skills – for living your everyday life.”

You can learn more about Infinity Squared online at infinitysquaredmathematics.org.

You can learn more about Exponentia Prime online at exponentiaprime.com.