“I sometimes think that the best way to change public attitude to math would be to stick a red label on everything that uses mathematics. Math inside”

Ian Stewart, Letters to a Young Mathematician

Using the above quote by Ian Stewart as inspiration, this inter- and transdisciplinary competition was launched back in 2018 to celebrate the Scottish Government initiative ‘Maths Week Scotland’, experience our impact story through these pages   

[…] unique and inclusive in its offer.

The creative approach to ‘capturing mathematics in the everyday world- through a lens’, sparks curiosity and investigation in participants. In turn these experiences frequently lead children and young people to engage in further exploration and Interdisciplinary learning (IDL) linked to the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of mathematics. An example of this would be submitted entries of photographs that capture STEM in nature and elements such as shape, position, sequences and patterns, that often lead to further learning conversations associated with cause and effect.

The competition brings great enthusiasm both from those participating in capturing ‘maths inside’ images and those observing entries as they come through. It sparks curiosity and supports participants to engage in mathematics using a subtle, fun and interactive approach.

Pamela Di Nardo, Senior Education Officer, Numeracy & Mathematics, Education Scotland

The competition really helped us to join up specific aspects that we have been exploring. We had been exploring photography with the pupils and encouraging them to think about the stories their photos could tell. The competition allowed us to add mathematical thinking into this, an additional layer of thinking! Which was great. The pupils enjoy the buzz about the photos around the time of the competition and enjoy the idea of their photos being shared. It has been a real highlight of Maths Week Scotland for us.

It’s a way of engaging pupils with the maths all around them, it encourages creative thinking and we have had some excellent discussions around the photos pupils have taken.

Ciara Gibson, Teacher, Grandtully Primary School

"My 4 year old son, Moray, participated in his first Maths Inside project during the first national lockdown in April 2020. He had quickly become familiar with the concept of remaining 'two metres apart' from others, and decided to see how this looked by measuring it in a two metre line of toy cars. I enjoyed watching him realise that he was able to use one of his passions (cars!) whilst learning Maths. I was never a fan of Maths as a child, so I am delighted to see my son learning at such a young age that there is a fun side to the subject, where he can use things he enjoys to help him learn - and that Maths isn't just boring sums! His project taught him valuable skills, like counting and measuring distance, and the whole family understood we had to stay 20 toy cars away from each other! He consolidated these skills outdoors looking at the natural world too, as well as at home, weighing and measuring for cooking and baking. He even learned to count in tens from the dial on the tumble dryer !

More fundamentally, I think it helped to bring some context to what must have been a very confusing event in his life – a global pandemic. This was the first prize that he had ever won and he was really pleased with himself. A really good introduction to Maths for him!"

Louisa Black

The Scottish Mathematical Council have been happy to promote "maths inside", both during Maths Week Scotland and at other times. It complements many of the other activities in MWS, including our own, by widening participants' sense of what mathematics is and making connections with other creative subjects. It has definitely enriched the Scottish mathematical landscape, and we look forward to seeing it continue to flourish.

Scottish Mathematical Council

Feedback on Maths Week Scotland 2020 told us that teachers value not only the maths content of Maths Week Scotland but the opportunity to be creative, involve families and celebrate maths. The Maths Inside competition embodies all these elements.

As a photography competition Maths Inside has also attracted new audiences to find maths in the world around them. Over the years photography students and professional artists have taken part and reported that they have had to think about their inspiration in a different way.

The Maths Inside prize giving has proved a celebratory highlight of the week. In 2020 we saw parents posting pictures of their children watching the online ceremony and celebrating their success to Twitter. Recognising participation in this way helps embed the message that maths is fun and something to be excited about.

In 2019 the winning entries were displayed in National Museum of Scotland Learning Centre. These images prompted discussions amongst visitors and school groups alike and provided a striking visual display. Informal chats such as this, and those which occur when families take part in the competition are impactful in reducing negative stereotyping around maths.

Beyond the Maths Week Scotland competition the Maths Inside team responded to lockdown restrictions by creating resources to support home learning and even running a special summer competition in 2020. These resources give parents and teachers the opportunities to extend the learning and conversations about maths beyond the competition.

Katie Oldfield, Maths Week Scotland Co-ordinator

Maths Inside is highly innovative and successful outreach activity that has gone from strength to strength since it was first launched some years ago. The sheer genius lies in its simplicity and inclusivity as an activity whereby it allows school children of all ages (and their parents) to participate. Taking part in this competition allows children to observe their surroundings with a whole new perspective, to apply their knowledge to everyday situations and as importantly, to articulate their observations. These are skills that we as teachers want our students to learn and develop, and taking part in maths inside is a very accessible and enjoyable way to do so.

Shazia Ahmed, Chair, Scottish Mathematical Support Network

"As a parent and as a teacher, I can't recommend the Maths Inside competition highly enough. It's such a simple idea - to look at the world around us and spot the maths involved. The competition engages with children from nursery to high school and encourages meaningful conversations between children and their parents about the real-life impact maths has on the world. I know from personal experience how great it is to see the delight on the kids' faces when their entries have been successful and their photos are displayed in public. At home we have also found the competition has brought out the creative side to our maths-loving son and helped our creative daughter to focus on the maths aspect."

Jim Crawford, P6 Teacher

"I love maths anyway so it's good fun to be looking for shapes and patterns in everyday things and have a chance to win a competition."

Matthew, Winner

"I love taking photos and I love maths. Together this is awesome, especially when you win!"

Samantha, Winner

"I've really enjoyed maths inside, first as an observer and then, when it was opened to all ages, as an entrant. (I couldn't resist the temptation...)

As a university maths teacher who has been involved in outreach for quite a few years, I see huge value in letting maths break out of its curricular box and make new connections. What I find so valuable about maths inside is that it does this in two ways: as a photo competition it makes a direct connection with visual arts, and through the commentary it encourages entrants to reflect on connections between maths and their everyday lives and their other subjects and interests. This makes it an extremely rich activity!

I also enjoy seeing the enthusiasm with which schools support and celebrate their pupils' entries. In most maths competitions, a pupil's success can be celebrated only as a slightly abstract matter — what they've done to achieve it is rather hard to explain to friends and family. With maths inside, schools and teachers display obvious delight in being able to share the winning photographs and show very explicitly what their pupils have created.

I'm not aware of any other competition or outreach activity that works in this way, and since maths inside started I've been doing my best to make other people aware of it and encourage them to participate. 'S math a rinn sibh — long may it continue!"

Dr David Pritchard, Senior Lecturer, University of Strathclyde

"Being part of Maths-inside team has been a fulfilling experience and offered me the chance to communicate my passion for mathematics to the public. As a PhD student in pure mathematics, Maths-inside has been one of the experiences that played a prominent role in sculpting my academic profile. Dr Andrew Wilson is an expert on educational and outreach aspects of mathematics. It has been amazing working with him and the team, especially in our brain-storming sessions. Maths-inside is an amazing initiative that is worthy to get expanded and I believe it has to offer a lot in our society. "

Dimitris Gerontogiannis, Co-author of Interdisciplinary Learning Resources Suite

"Being involved in the Maths Inside photo competition was a great experience. It allowed me not only to gain experience in science communication through the production of educational resources targeted at children of different ages, but it also allowed me to do so in a professional setting.

It combines two disciplines that many like myself have an interest in but don’t usually see go hand in hand, that is, maths and art. Moreover, we get to see our hard work pay off with the engagement of the participants, and their amazing work."

David Nkansah, Co-author of Interdisciplinary Learning Resources Suite

"Mathematics is the study of shape, logic, change, and quantity, but do we realise that so many of the everyday objects around us rely heavily on mathematical concepts? maths inside challenges the public to consider, a little deeper than normal, the items we see and interact with on a daily basis. It affords the opportunity for children and adults alike to answer for themselves the often-asked question, "what's the point in maths?". As we see from the submissions in this fantastic competition, maths really is inside everything, and everyone."

Dr Alan J Walker, Senior Lecturer, University of the West of Scotland