The city council is organizing a “Street Mathematics” day to spread this flag on April 24th in the Alameda de Hercules

The City Council of Seville, through the delegation of Youth, Science, Universities and Cooperation for Development, and in cooperation with the Andalusian Association for Mathematics Education Thales and the University of Seville through its Secretariat for Scientific and Cultural Publishing, presented the second edition of the activity “Mathematics in the Street”, to be held in Alameda de Hercules on the 24 April, aimed at schoolchildren and with the participation of high school students in its organization.

The aim of this experience is to enhance interest and knowledge and to spread mathematics as one of the disciplines and degrees with the highest degree of application, thus increasing students’ interest in pursuing higher education. Seville is a city of science in which we present mathematics in an entertaining and interesting way to all audiences in a family environment and in cooperation with the secondary school students of the organization as an additional incentive”, explained the delegate of the branch, Juan Antonio Barunivo.

After the first release scheduled for 2020 and the interruption in the context of the pandemic, this year’s workshops, games, performances and other actions are designed to disseminate and promote abstract thinking and, at the same time, improve the social attitude towards mathematics. The activities consist of workshops with manipulative material in which various mathematical concepts related to geometry, arithmetic and logic are dealt with, especially the search for patterns and the development of strategies for solving problems that arise.

In this sense, various puzzles and board games will be worked out with the attendees that allow these skills to be approached from a perspective based on purposeful learning through play. Therefore, the workshops have a double aspect: to show that dealing with mathematical concepts can be fun and not something to be biased about, and on the other hand, to teach how to face problems that are looking for solving strategies.

A large part of these workshops will be given by high school students who will have prior training, thus obtaining a second benefit and increasing their interest. The delegate, who summoned the Strategic Council for the Promotion of Science, concluded that “the very structure of the activity, which is carried out in four large tents, and takes place on spring break in our city, ensures that a large part of the audience is brought together.” Research and gain their weight in the local economy.