Bard Math CAMP Day 5

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Bard Math Circle
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8/31/2018

Today was the last day of CAMP!

In computer science, we wrapped up the week by learning more about the actual hardware of computers. In small groups, we each got a tower that we opened up and explored the computer guts inside. We had a small scavenger hunt for specific parts we had discussed during the week such as the CPU (Central Processing Unit), PSU (Power Supply Unit), and motherboard. Following our exploration of the towers, we came back together for a class discussion about more important computer vocabulary and misconceptions about things such as Wifi and servers.

In Math class, with Japheth, we finally got to uncover together the math behind liar’s bingo. After solving the mystery using all that we have learned about binary this week, we split up into pairs to work with different problems that we later found were extremely related. Some people worked with counting subsets, some with counting divisors, some with letter combinations, and more! Through these problems and a small tour around the classroom to discuss everyone’s sorted solutions, we realized that each of these problems were related to Pascal’s Triangle!

In art, students had a chance to continue working on their clay fractals from the day before. Students then utilized the idea from clay fractals and created cookies using this design. The cookie dough was kneaded and then combined to create a fractal pattern for the cookies. When students finished this, they had a chance to combine all of the things they worked on over the course of the week into one piece of art.

From 2:30-3:30, we had our CAMP open house for parents!

Blog by: Meagan Kenney, Elliott Goldstein, and Maya Schwartz.

Japheth Wood

I’m Japheth Wood (he/him), the Bard Math CAMP co-director, and a math professor at Bard College. CAMP (which is an acronym for Creative and Analytical Math Program) is a very special week of the year for our young math community. It's inspiring to see our students return year after year. This is our 11th summer of CAMP! We're back once again on the idyllic Bard College campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, and thankful to the CAMP students, parents, and staff, for making this mathemagical week happen. Notably, we've (finally) had our first CAMP reunion this past June, an event that I know will grow to be an integral part of what we do.

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Frances Stern

My name is Frances Stern (she/her/hers)! I’ve been teaching math at CAMP since the first year, making sure our math theme has a connection to art and computer. It’s fun to show students math that they don’t see in school. I've retired from daily teaching but continue to teach for the New York Math Circle & students who are seeking more math in their lives. My hobbies include learning to draw, paint, & juggle, reading, walking & folk dancing. I’ve written 2 books for teachers and parents called “Adding Math, Subtracting Tension” (for different age-ranges of children). They pay as much attention to how to keep out of a fight (what many parents told me is a problem) as they do to math.

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