The DU Summer Math Camp 2017 program recently helped 24 students aged 10-16 discover the beauty of patterns and relationships inherent in the rotations and flips of rectangles and triangles.

“This area of mathematics, called group theory, is at the very heart of modern mathematics and is used by chemists and physicists to understand the behavior of molecules and subatomic particles,” said Dr. Tim Pennings, Chair of the Department of Mathematics. “Each of our students was given a subatomic particle to show their parents, but all were lost on the way home,” he joked.

The free Math Camp, held July 17-20 at the W.A. Lettinga and Holland Campuses, was funded by a Davenport Legacy Endowment Grant. Led by five members of the Math Department and two DU students, the camps included many games, puzzles and a free lunch.

A few of the comments from parents and students included:

“My son really enjoyed the camp. At first he was not happy (his) mom signed him up, but he came home every day saying it was fun and willing to tell me about his morning.” – parent

“It was a blast to watch my boy run over to meet with you this morning. Whatever you’re doing, it seems to be working really well!” – parent

“She did not want to go Sunday, (but) Monday she came home with a big smile on her face and told us what a GREAT time she had and how much fun it was.” – parent

“We loved that the focus of the camp wasn’t on ‘teaching to the test’ and really sparked a love of learning.” – parent

“We just wanted to thank you for an amazing week. Thank you for your hospitality and kindness. Thank you for making a connection with our son. Thank you for sparking his love of learning.” – parent

“I just want to say thank you because usually I don’t enjoy math, but you made math fun and interesting for me this week.” – student