The School of Mathematics is pleased to offer a number of new workshops available to schools for Years 7 and up.
- The Art of Cryptography
When trying to justify the relevance of Mathematics, there aren’t many better options than to talk about codebreaking and the importance in communication, espionage and warfare. Although Cryptography is a concept that goes back to the Roman Empire, many important applications are found almost-everywhere in modern day lifeThis session will explore Cryptography by using Modular Arithmetic, which is an accessible topic that most students understand very quickly. We will use visual methods to demonstrate the key differences in some Cryptographic approaches and then ask students to design their own cryptosystem using these techniques. Finally, we will put these systems to the test as students try to send each other secret messages without being detected by their fellow students or their teachers.#This workshop has a maximum capacity of 30 students and is available to Years 7 and 8.
- The Mathematics of Juggling
Juggling has been an art form for millennia and jugglers have collectively invented hundreds of elegant and complicated patterns. However, from Egyptian hieroglyphs to almanack compendiums of printed juggling patterns, up until very recently jugglers did not have a single consistent language to describe their craft.This interactive workshop will introduce juggling as an art form and then begin to teach the very simple mathematical language of juggling. Students will be asked to describe juggling patterns using this new language and will then be shown some of the surprising results that emerge. At the end, students will be taught how to juggle two or three objects, depending on their preference and confidence.This workshop has a maximum capacity of 40 students and can be delivered to all school years 7 to 13.
- Topology and Play-Doh
Topology is a beautiful and important subject in Mathematics that is generally not studied before University level. This is a great shame, as the subject is easy to understand using readily accessible resources such as Play-Doh and ringed doughnuts.This hands-on session will introduce students to the fundamental notions of Topology, asking them to complete introductory proofs with little more than bending and squishing of Play-Doh. At the end of the session, students will be asked to solve a problem from Graph Theory both on a piece of paper and then on a doughnut, using their new understanding of Topology to understand the difference.This workshop has a maximum capacity of 40 students and can be delivered to all school years 7 to 13.
- Build a Theorem
Although A-Level Mathematics contains many new ideas when compared to GCSEs, one aspect that is missing is the idea of a ‘proof.’ This idea is crucial when studying Mathematics and is one of the main factors that distinguish the subject from the Sciences.In this workshop we will encourage students to develop their first theorem and then prove it, focusing on tessellations of the 2d plane. The techniques involved will draw upon several aspects of the A-Level syllabus and then combine them together so that students can independently develop one of the first proofs.This workshop has a maximum capacity of 20 students and is available to students in Years 12 and 13.
For all of the above workshops, we generally ask that students are allowed to use their phones for these sessions so that they can participate in our online voting and quizzes.
To book any of the above, please email Joe Watkins on j.watkins@kent.ac.uk
Please note: availability for these sessions is limited and so early booking is advised.