Campus News
Local elementary and middle school students celebrate the joy of math at UC Santa Cruz-hosted festival
A campus-hosted offering of the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival helped students build confidence and a sense of belonging around math.
Associate Professor of Computational Media David Lee's two children enjoy math games at the festival.
More than 80 local elementary and middle school students and their families gathered in the science and engineering library at University of California, Santa Cruz, to experience the joy of math with puzzles and games that inspired wonder and intergenerational connection.
The October 4 gathering was a campus-hosted offering of the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, a nonprofit organization that helps students build confidence, joy, and a sense of belonging around math through playful events. Pascale Garaud, professor and chair of the Applied Mathematics Department in the Baskin School of Engineering, brought the event to UC Santa Cruz, and faculty and graduate students from her department served as volunteers.
Students from local schools, including Bay View Elementary, Westlake Elementary, Bonny Doon Elementary, and Monarch Elementary, came to the event with parents and family members. They played math games that ranged from simple to advanced, exposing them to logic problems and geometric puzzles. They challenged students to figure out the games for themselves, facing concepts they may have never seen before.
“I enjoyed watching the kids build confidence as they worked on the same game with increasing complexity levels,” said Juliana Matranga, an applied mathematics Ph.D. student. “Some of the kids were hesitant at first, but before long, they started correcting their parents’ solutions! It was great to see families, including mine, having fun and learning together.”
Even for the seasoned mathematicians in attendance, the games offered a challenge.
“To me, the most fun part was to see how across all the generations of people who were there—professors, parents, grad students, kids—everyone loved the same math games, demonstrating the universal fun of math,” Garaud said. “The games are so well designed that anyone could play and have fun, and at the level of professors and graduate students, there was fun in figuring out the theory behind the games.”
While this is the first time the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival was held at UC Santa Cruz, organizers hope to make it an annual event. Elizabett Drif, director of programming at Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, said working with Garaud and her team was a wonderful experience.
“The graduate students brought so much energy and warmth to the math festival—they were genuinely excited to connect with families and make math feel approachable and fun,” Drif said. “It was inspiring to see students and parents diving into activities together, laughing, and celebrating small discoveries. We heard so much positive feedback from attendees who appreciated how welcoming, joyful, and fun the math event felt.”