Those who want to combat climate change, plan environmentally friendly traffic or master artificial intelligence need mathematics. Students, teachers and anyone interested can experience this by participating in the digital Math Advent Calendars. Designed for three different groups of age, the daily math puzzles from the pre-Christmas world of Math-Gnomes invite everyone to puzzle, discover and explore mathematics beyond everyday school life. The virtual doors of the Calendars open on December 01. Registration starts on 1st of November.

Under the adress www.mathekalender.de, interested people can choose the appropriate Math Calendar and register for the individual or the class game. Tasks are created for grades 4-6 and 7-9 by Mathe im Leben and for grades 10+ by the Berlin Mathematics Research Center MATH+.

This year’s motto is: Math makes it! From the 1st to the 24th of December exciting and tricky mathematical challenges await daily – nicely packed in pre-Christmas stories. They show how mathematics contributes to tackling a variety of everyday problems as well as questions in the context of current societal challenges. In this way, they also make it tangible that mathematics means more than just arithmetics. As every year, great prizes are waiting for the winners, including a possible invitation to the big award ceremony on January 24, 2020 in Berlin.

The patron of the Maths Advent Calendars is Anja Karliczek, Federal Minister of Science and Education. In her letter, she emphasized the importance of the competition, which captivates more than 130,000 students and 10,000 adults from fifty countries each year: “I am delighted that the Maths Advent Calendar motivates and challenges so many students every year to study mathematical problems. Because it is very important for our country that we attract young people for STEM subjects. I wish the math calendars success, exciting tasks and many curious and active participants.”

Mathe im Advent is a mass competition aimed at pupils in grades 2-10. They can register and compete in the individual game or together as a class to win exciting prizes. In addition, the motto is: Everyone is welcome. And joining in is worthwhile! Every year, parents, grandparents and other fun gamers are also gambling. The riddles are daily changing stories from the Village of Christmas Gnomes. The gnomes show in their workplace and in everyday life what math is really needed for. The tasks of “Mathe im Advent” promote logical thinking and creative problem-solving, putting special emphasize on the fun of all participants.

The MATH+ Advent Calendar aims at smart pupils of the 10th grade and older, students, teachers and interested adults. With the more complex tasks, it invites to discover the power and beauty of mathematics beyond the typical school subjects. The questions are being developed by scientists of the Cluster of Excellence MATH+ in cooperation with the Dutch research institute 4TU.AMI. They provide insight into current research questions and problems from the daily routine of mathematicians. Deadline for solving all 24 tasks is December 31, so starting to participate is worthwhile at any time – even after December 1. In addition, an accompanying online forum will be offered in which the tasks can be discussed with each other and with the task creators. The MATH+ Advent Calendar is available in German and English. Individuals as well as entire classes and courses can register for participation.

Mathe im Advent is supported by the Mathe im Leben gemeinnützigen GmbH in cooperation with the German Mathematical Association, funded by the Gisela und Erwin Sick Foundation, the Klaus Tschira Foundation and Berlin help e.V. – an initiative of the Berliner Morgenpost.

The MATH+ Adventskalender is a project of the Berlin Mathematics Research Center MATH+ in cooperation with the Research Institute 4TU.AMI from the Netherlands.

This year‘s Dates

Start of Registration: 1. November 2019

Playingtime: 1-27 December 2019 (Mathe im Advent)

1-31 December 2019 (MATH+ Adventskalender)

Award Ceremony: 24 January 2020, 14 – 16 Uhr, Technische Universität Berlin, AudiMax

Websites: www.mathe-im-advent.de und www.mathekalender.de

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