Talking, Dancing and Playing Mathematics is an event that seeks to change this by engaging kids in fun games to teach them about the fascinating world of numbers
Kids conduct fun science experiments at a workshop
Deep inside southern Odisha live the Saora people — a tribe that exists largely by communicating verbally, in that they have no script or numerical system. They do, however, have games that depend on mathematics. But for most of us numbers have been less intriguing and more a daunting monster, such that mathematical anxiety and numerophobia are legit disorders plaguing many children and teenagers.
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Talking, Dancing and Playing Mathematics is an event that seeks to change this by engaging kids in fun games to teach them about the fascinating world of numbers.
Aaloka Kanhere
"Today, we are in a situation where people find mathematics and science dry and boring and that's partly because we've reduced it to learning and memorising facts.
But science is the exploration of the world around us, whether it's the grass or a cell in our body or a star millions of light-years away," says Dr Arnab Bhattacharya, professor and chair, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and the founder of Chai and Why, a public outreach initiative, which encourages informal discussions on scientific subjects, and is organising the weekend's session.
Arnab Bhattacharya
"All kids are born explorers, they are always poking things to see if it's squishy and examining the world. They are good scientists. But, in schools they are made to shut up and ask fewer questions. We want to encourage them to ask those questions. As professional scientists, we cannot complain that people are not taking an interest as long as we don't make the effort to make it interesting and tell them why we're so excited about it," he explains.
The session will be conducted by Dr Aaloka Kanhere who works in mathematics education with Vigyan Pratibha, a Government of India initiative dedicated to nurturing talent and interest in science and mathematics that implements new learning methods in government schools. "Ludo is a universally played game but it's a game of luck.
There's no logic behind six being important. But there are games that use the logic of probability like Mankala, which can be found in Egyptian pyramids. Similar versions of the game are played in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as well. Then, there is chopsticks and nim from China and Korea that are also strategy-based.
Unfortunately, we make kids do mathematics and it's never taught to be enjoyed. That's what we want to change with this session," Kanhere tells us.
ON: June 3, 11 am onwards
AT: Prithvi Cafe, Janki Kutir, Juhu.
CALL: 26174118 (no registration required)
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