29/09/2022

Workshops, games, Aramat and Robozão entertain visitors.

The show “Matemágico”, bicycles with square wheels, giant chess and origami and paper airplane workshops are some of the attractions that enlivened the second edition of the National Mathematics Festival, this Thursday (29), with the presence of students from public and private schools in Rio de Janeiro. In total, 179 schools are present at the Festival. The event opens to the general public this Friday (30) and Saturday (1st).

Also a hit were the mascot Aramat, who distributed kisses and hugs in the activity-filled corridors, and Robozão, a popular TikTok character, who paraded together and posed for photos with the children.

Júlia Rosa, 8, a student in the public school system, is already preparing for the next Carioca Mathematics Olympiad (OCM), a partnership between IMPA and the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, modeled after the OBMEP. “I had never seen a bicycle with square wheels! I didn't even know you could ride one. I'm super excited, discovering so many new things here,” she said, happy to be participating in the workshops.

A class of 7th grade students from the João Barbalho Municipal School in Ramos (North Zone of Rio de Janeiro) attended the event with their mathematics teachers Julio Reuther and Cláudio Henrique Sales, and made sure to take photos (above) with the general director of IMPA, Marcelo Viana. Artur Queiroz, Ana Luiza de Jesus, Julia Dias, and João Pedro Santos were thrilled with the event. “They are delighted,” said Julio. The school received 111 medals at the Rio de Janeiro Mathematics Olympiad.

“We had this great surprise, because the students face many difficulties, in addition to the pandemic. They are a group of kids who are a pleasure to work with, very dedicated,” said Julio, who promoted chess tournaments at the school. One of the gold medalists was Andrei Faria da Silva, from the 8th grade, who intends to study Computer Science in college.

Iago do Nascimento, a 14-year-old student at the Carioca Civic-Military Municipal School, said that he has already received two honorable mentions in two editions of the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools) and hopes to win a medal this year. He was one of the students who correctly answered a mathematical challenge proposed by the deputy director of IMPA (Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics), Claudio Landim, in his opening lecture. "It makes us think about mathematics in a fun way, and that encourages us to like it even more," said the teenager, who intends to pursue a career in the exact sciences.

In the 400 m² area of Firjan/Sesi, the kids lined up all day to ride the square-wheeled bicycles, assemble Lego sets, and play chess with giant pieces, among many other attractions.

Other workshops that were a hit with the public included “Learning statistics using Minecraft”; “Matgami: discovering mathematics through origami techniques”; “Exploring mathematics in board games”; “Cognition and logic workshop”, among others.