This summer we ran a two week pilot program with 8 middle schoolers from around New York City. Our activities took us from the halls of the Rose Planetarium to the Trinity Church graveyard to the shores of Governors Island, where we found math in many different forms. We calculated the number of balloons needed to lift a car in the air, asked passerbys how many 3¢ stamps were in a dozen, saw a scale-map of New York that included every single building in the 5 boroughs, and conducted surveys on the High Line, Manhattan's newest park. Check out some of our activities below!
SMI-NY convened on the campus of the beautiful St Thomas Choir School, a block away from Columbus Circle. Our day started with math puzzlers and games, as well as a preview of the day's activities.

One component of our adventures around the city was to ask New Yorkers about their understanding of mathematics. Above, we quizzed people outside the Rose Center for Earth and Space about the meaning of the the term "light year."

While solving a "Matchstick" puzzle, campers learned how to use patterns to predict solutions.

At SMI-NY, our campers used unique puzzles to enhance their spacial understanding. Below, one of our students studies her solution to a puzzle invented by Harry Houdini.
Our travels took us to unique places, including the "Panorama" at the Queens Museum of Art, a scale model of the 5 boroughs, where students learned about scale, population density and how official maps can "lie."
In keeping with our "hands on, minds on" philosophy, our campers built "clinometers" which use the principle of similar triangles to calculate the height of the ceiling at Grand Central Station. Our tour also included a visit to the "Whispering Gallery" where arches carry sound waves across ceilings.
Part of our "mission" was to help children see the mathematical connections between various kinds of phenomena. Above, our students saw how the lifespan of Colonial settlers was similar to the lifespan of a soap bubble!
On Governors Island, we used various methods to calculate the area of the island. In this example, we threw dimes at a map of the island to simulate cannonballs being shot. The ratio of "hits" to "misses" gave us a result of 183 acres, which was within 5% of the island's actual area of 177 acres.
Our travels also took us into New York's cultural landmarks, including the Mueum of Modern Art, where we looked at pieces like Robert Smithson's "Alagon #2," which investigates space, symmetry and proportion.