Human Math Museum a hit for students

Doing math in ways that would make math more authentic and exciting was evident at the Human Math Museum hosted by the newcomer students in Room 303 and Room 301 at Hugh John MacDonald. Displaying their knowledge of different math concepts and their English language skills, the students shared their projects and activities with parents, peers, teachers and community members on Tuesday, June 18th, 2024. 

The first of its kind, the Museum included displays which demonstrated students' understanding of the importance of angles in launching rockets, and the use of triangles to create Hyperbolic Paraboloid Structures. Applying the concepts of measurement to build a folding chair and Hydraulic machines. Using pendulums to draw patterns as well as applying the concepts of fractions and percentage through tangram shapes. In addition, students invited the participants to be a part of learning, through challenge activities like building a Da Vinci’s bridge, creating the tallest paper tower or making two squares and four triangles with eight sticks. This was about to begin a conversation that stretches from the classroom into the community, from there into the world, and from there back into the classroom. 

The idea of the math museum was the result of the teacher Mr. Guillermo Vodniza’s desire to make math accessible to these students from interrupted schooling backgrounds. “When my students came and told me that they were not capable of learning the Math that was happening in other classrooms, it broke my heart,” said Vodniza. 

Determined to make them successful math learners, Vodniza included experiential and hands-on math learning experiences into his classroom. “For me, it was very important that they feel proud of themself,” said Vodniza. 

Talking about how they feel about Math now, Ahmed, a Grade 8 student at HJM said, “I feel I have energy to do it.” 

Feeling empowered with her Math learning, Nasra, a Grade 7 student said, “I want to be a Math teacher.”

The event was well-attended by the student community at HJM as well as parents, teachers and community leaders. “It was amazing to see the engagement of the students”, said Abdikheir Ahmed, Executive Director of the Aurora Family Therapy Centre.