More than 500 students from 68 Nebraska high schools participated in the 34th annual Nebraska Math Day on Feb. 20, 2024.
The annual event is designed to spark high school students' interest in math, to encourage them to pursue a career in mathematics or a related field, and to recognize outstanding mathematical ability. This year featured the PROBE II individual competition, the Math Bowl team competition, and four Challenge Activities—the Puzzle Room, two activities related to data science, and the first-ever Escape Room.
"The Challenge Activities are an opportunity for us to increase our time and engagement with the high school students," Levi Heath, postdoctoral researcher and event organizer, said. "We try to change these from year to year, with the exception of the Puzzle Room, so that students who attend multiple years in a row can experience something new."
Healh co-created the Escape Room with graduate student Isabel Safarik. The premise was that students are locked in their classroom after falling asleep during a class and solve clues to escape. The first clue was hidden in math problems written on a whiteboard, which led students online to textbooks hosted on the department's website. Completing exercises in the textbooks opened a combination lock. Other clues included riddles about the Math Resource Center and university athletics.
Math Day Escape Room.
"The high school students were very engaged and seemed to enjoy it!" Heath said.
Kimberly Stanke, a faculty member in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, created and facilitated the activities that explored fundamental concepts in data science.
The activities are designed to encourage collaborative problem solving and introduce fields and concepts students may not see in high school, Heath said.
"Hopefully, the more they experience, the better informed they will be when it comes time to decide a major or concentration in college," he said.
After taking the first PROBE (Problems Requiring Original and Brilliant Effort) exam at their respective school classrooms previously, 58 students took the PROBE II exam at this event to compete for scholarships to the university. Viet Lai of Lincoln Southwest High School placed first. The top 25 scholarship winners are listed on the results webpage. For 2024, students who place from 11th to 25th in the PROBE competition (as a sum of PROBE I and II) will each earn a $500 scholarship to the university.
East Butler students at Math Day.
In the Math Bowl competition, Lincoln Southwest won the Class A (competitive), Brownell Talbot 1 won the Class B (competitive), Scottsbluff 2 won the Class C (recreational), and East Butler won the Class D (recreational).
Jodi Chapek of East Butler Elementary attributed their students' success to the Husker alumni who taught them.
"They had a Primarily Math graduate as a teacher in first grade, a Math in the Middle graduate in fifth and sixth grade, and a high school Math in the Middle graduate in seventh and eighth—and now he is their Math Day coach!" she said.
"The Department of Mathematics has earned a reputation of connecting with high school students through large events, such as Math Day, as well as through smaller and more focused experiences, such as research presentations or mentoring programs," Petronela Radu, chair of and professor in the department, said. "Math Day remains a special event which energizes the campus and we hope that our high school participants get immersed in fascinating mathematical experiences through competitions and hands-on learning activities, such as the Escape Room."
Most attendees tour campus, and the College of Arts and Sciences provided an information booth to share about available programs. Faculty and advisors answered questions about courses, degrees, and options.
"We welcome future visits and look forward to welcoming Nebraska high school graduates as UNL students!" Radu said.
Results from each competition can be viewed on the Math Day Results webpage. The 2025 event will be held on Feb. 18.
