Join us for MegaMenger and Cambridge Maths Circle!
Join us at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences on Saturday 25 October for a day packed with hands-on mathematical activities, including the chance to take part in the global MegaMenger event - an attempt to build the world's largest ever distributed model fractal out of business cards! A Menger sponge is a (nearly) three-dimensional fractal cube, which has so many holes it contains no volume at all, but is so crinkly it has infinite surface area.. The MegaMenger project aims to build a distributed global model of the fractal in multiple sites worldwide. (You can read more about the maths behind the model on Plus, our free online maths magazine.) On Saturday 25 October we will be building a Level 3 cube out of 8,000 smaller cubes, each made from 6 folded business cards. Our finished Level 3 model Menger sponge will be made of 48,000 business cards, weigh over 90Kg and be 1.5 metres tall, wide and deep. Other build sites constructing a Level 3 cube include London, Manchester and Edinburgh in the UK, New York and San Francisco in the US, Auckland in New Zealand and Suzhou in China. Together, the 20 Level 3 build sites worldwide will construct a virtual distributed giant Level 4 Menger cube. Students in Years 7 to 10 at twenty schools across Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire have been pre-building thousands of basic cubes for the build in advance, co-ordinated by the regional Further Mathematics Support Programme. Drop in at any point during the event (11am - 3pm) to join in with the Menger sponge building and help to make the global MegaMenger happen! In addition to the MegaMenger build, there will be a wide range of other hands-on mathematical activities for all ages from 5 to 18, led by MMP staff and Maths Faculty student volunteers. We will be streaming the build live on Saturday 25th - view the live web feed below.
The event is free and no booking is needed: drop in at any time between 11am and 3.00. Under-14s must be accompanied by a supervising adult. The Maths Cafe will be open between 11am and 3pm, serving tea and coffee, soft drinks, snacks and sandwiches. There will also be limited free parking on-site in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences car park on Wilberforce Road between 11am-3pm. First-time visitors can find a detailed site map and directions to the CMS here. Cards for the build kindly donated by Victoire Press.
The event is free and no booking is needed: drop in at any time between 11am and 3.00. Under-14s must be accompanied by a supervising adult. The Maths Cafe will be open between 11am and 3pm, serving tea and coffee, soft drinks, snacks and sandwiches. There will also be limited free parking on-site in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences car park on Wilberforce Road between 11am-3pm. First-time visitors can find a detailed site map and directions to the CMS here. Cards for the build kindly donated by Victoire Press.
