Mu Alpha Theta (MAT), Central’s National Math Honor Society, held its annual elementary math school night as a part of Ranch View Elementary School’s STEM night on Thursday, March 23. Central  students volunteered and spent time with kids in the community by playing numerous math games.

“Our goal is to inspire and reach kids at a young age, instilling in them a habit of loving math and NOT thinking it is too difficult or boring,” Adel Wu, senior and MAT executive board member, said. “We play games, solve puzzles [and] riddles, and show them fun ways to apply their STEM knowledge.”

Wu and several other NCHS students joined in with elementary school kids in Ranch View to play these fun games. The games were divided into three types: kindergarten to first grade, second to third grade, and fourth to fifth grade. For example, in Dados, two players roll dice and acquire points by getting a certain sum. The complexity of the game increases for each increasing grade level.

An example of a challenging game that required more thinking is Buzz!, in which a group of students must count in order, but replace numbers that are a multiple of 7 (e.g., 49, 56, 63, etc.) or end in 7 (e.g., 27, 37, 47, etc.) by saying “buzz.”

“I think there was very little interest within MAT itself and it was only this year that we’ve had more volunteers, enthusiasm, and ideas revolving around the math nights, which is amazing,” Christina Vasquez, senior and MAT executive board member, said.

Vasquez organized this event, including typing out the instructions for each of the 23 games as well as an instruction guide for volunteers to help out. In 2016, this event was held at Elmwood Elementary School, with a similar attendance to this year’s. Both parents and students had positive remarks about this event.

“Lots of kids are really into it and have lots of fun,” Wu said. “Our mission is more fun centered, so usually games related to logical thinking or math really get kids hyped and invested The parents obviously love to see their kids having fun, so it’s a win-win for everyone there.”

MAT executive board members reached out to several schools, but many were unable to fit this event into their schedule or did not contact them back with information at all. But MAT members are optimistic for next year.

“Hopefully, next year we can get to more schools and make it a tradition.” Wu said.

Photos by Adel Wu