DUB1IN BY Numb3rs walking trails unveiled yesterday help children find maths in familiar places from St Stephen’s Green to the Natural History Museum in the city centre.
The interactive maths paths, unveiled as part of Innovation Dublin 2011 and Maths Week 2011, wind through the city pointing out the symmetry in Georgian doors, the history of Ireland’s great mathematicians as well as puzzles and mind games.
“It’s a chance to stretch your mind and stretch your legs,” said science writer and Ingenious Ireland trail developer Mary Mulvihill.
The activities are suitable for ages six and up and range from simple measuring to complex sums. All you need, according to the free trail guides, are an activity sheet, a pencil, some string and a camera.
The St Stephen’s Green trail focuses on numbers, slopes, geometry and sculpture. The Merrion Square and Georgian Dublin trail focuses on symmetry and history. The last trail winds through the National Gallery and the Natural History Museum, asking participants to ponder whether they fit into a square or if they can prove all deer have an infinite number of legs. The project, which took about two months, was originally scheduled as one trail, but with “loads and loads” of activities, the company decided on a grander vision. “We didn’t realise it was going to be that big, it just grew and grew. Instead of one trail, we realised we had enough material to break it into three,” Ms Mulvihill said.
Pádraig Ó Murchú, manager of education and research at Intel Ireland, welcomed the trails as a fun way to help popularise a subject invaluable to Ireland’s future if the country is to build “a smart, sustainable, enthusiastic society”. “The only way we can overcome these problems is through the application of science and maths,” Mr Ó Murchu said. “This is where the jobs of the future are going to be.”
The St Stephen’s Green activity sheet is available for free at www.ingeniousireland.ie and the other two trails will be available shortly. TODAY: There will be a maths puppet show for young children at County Library, Tallaght, Dublin, at 10am, 10.45am, 11.30am, 12.15pm and 1pm.
TOMORROW: Faster than the speed of light: Was Einstein wrong?
Dr Cormac O’Raifeartaigh who lectures in physics and mathematics at Waterford Institute of Technology looks at the grounds for scepticism around this latest pronouncement at the Davenport Hotel, Dublin at 8pm.
Maths Week runs until October 22nd. See mathsweek.ie