Students gathered at the Union Ballroom for a plethora of math-themed board games to compete for calculus dominance at the annual Calculus Carnival.
The U’s tutoring center puts on the carnival to get students to interact with one another and help them understand the difficult material they covered during the semester.
For some students, the competition helps them study and gives them hands-on experience with the material they learn in class8212;a bridge from all the studying and homework to actual understanding of the subject.
The Calculus Carnival included math games patterned after popular board games, such as Cranium and Pictionary, as well as numerical takes on classic games such as charades and memory challenges. Students were awarded stickers for winning a game, but stickers also served as proof of attendance for professors offering credit for attending the event.
“Games like the memory game stretched my mind to the limits and helped me realize how much I neglected the memorization part of math,” said Parker Duncan, a sophomore in physics. “They even made me quicker on my feet.”
Some students came for the opportunity of extra credit, others out of curiosity and a few just to have a good time in between classes. The games were aimed at improving students’ math skills in a fun environment, with help from fellow math students, professors and volunteers who helped organize and maintain the event.
“I volunteered this year because it’s an academic activity that’s good for the U,” said Cesar Lozano, a graduate student in mathematics.
It’s a fun experience for math lovers to just get together and have fun, said Alex Fullmer, a junior in math and physics.