Make Maths Come Alive!

When I was complaining about my maths test to an aunt, my uncle came by and said, “What if you made a maths mistake in a building? It could fall over.” I had never looked at it that way, because maths had always been just numbers to me on a flat piece of paper. Symbols that did not symbolize anything.

I often hear kids say, “why do I have to learn maths? I do not need it when I am older.” But let’s look at that. Does the bike we just bought fit through the door? Do I have enough money in my wallet to buy this cute top? How many points do I still need to score to be the leader in this game? What angle do I need to kick the ball to score a goal?

At Make + Meld we use maths a lot. We play with shapes when we make puppets or toys. We measure when we build environments for security or animal enclosures. We look at the attributes of materials to make the best choice.

It all comes to life when you are building a 3-dimensional object with tools and your own hands. It makes so much more impact when you realise you have obstructed the arms of the pinball machine, and you cannot play the game. All of a sudden numbers, space and measuring become more important. Solving the problem teaches resilience on top of that.

All of the incursions at Make + Meld include this realisation. Kids do not register they are learning these concepts, while having fun, as a much-heard reaction by the end of our incursion is; “This was the best lesson ever.”

Renate (workshop facilitator)