Welcome to the event, information about the programme and a chance to meet the other attendees (with a virtual icebreaker for remote attendees).

A chance to find out about maths outreach and engagement projects and share your work.

Talks in this session:

• Philipp Legner - The Sound of Mathematics
• Sam Hartburn - Do you wanna be in a band with me?
• Rita Ball - Wellbeing Maths for people living with a Dementia Diagnosis
• Thomas Vogt - Humour and math: a contradiction? The Math Cartoon Prize of the German Mathematical Society
• Matthew Scroggs - Chalkdust Magazine
• Francesca Iezzi - Geometry, Art and Mind
• Kevin Bowman - Broadway Style Maths
• Dr Kevin Olding - Mathsaurus

The full list of talks, with blurbs and links, is available here: Lightning Talks PDF

Tea and coffee (with dairy, oat and soya milk and herbal teas), served with a selection of pastries including gluten free and vegan alternatives, will be served in the Herschel lobby outside LT1. Remote attendees can chat with in-person attendees in LT1.

This session will provide you with some of the fundamental principles you need to embed disability equality into your work. This is not a ‘how to’ guide, but rather an exploration of some of the mechanisms which bring about ableism, and some tools to ensure that we are developing anti-ableist practice.

Michèle Taylor is Director for Change for Ramps on the Moon, the Arts Council England funded consortium working to enrich the stories we tell and how we tell them by elevating the place of disabled and deaf people across the theatre industry.

She is also an independent disability equality consultant, having set up her business in 1992 as a trainer and strategist in disability issues, working with cultural and heritage organisations as they work towards making their practices, policies and premises open to disabled people. Previous clients have included Arts Council England, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Opera House, Universities including Nottingham and Gothenberg and the University of the Arts in London, the British Museum and Cultural Heritage Without Borders.

Lunch will be served in the Herschel lobby, outside LT1. There will be a vegetarian buffet, with tea, coffee and juice.

Buffet summary: a selection of wraps including cheese and pickle, cheese savoury, pepper and houmous and falafel salad, as well as onion bhajis, pakoras, vegetarian spring rolls, olives, tomatoes and fruit. Tea and coffee (with dairy, oat and soya milk and herbal teas), fruit juice and water.

During this session, our professional photographer will be available in the Herschel lobby to take headshots of attendees. Join the queue if you want a headshot photo taking, free for your own use.

Split session with skills workshops on four topics. Participants will be able to sign up for a session on the day, but numbers in each will be limited so we cannot guarantee your first preference.

• Making YouTube Videos, with YouTuber and mathematician James Grime.

  Maths videos on YouTube can be used to teach maths, or to just show people something interesting. Making videos doesn't have to be technically difficult, but is good practice in explaining difficult concepts in clear and succinct ways. In this session we will discuss how to make your first YouTube video, including questions about content, presentation and video making.

• Coding and physical computing, with Jonathan Sanderson from NUSTEM.

  In this workshop session, you'll get stuck into cardboard and wires to make an electro-mechanical musical contraption. From there, we'll look at a range of other projects and workshops we've delivered over the years, assessing their respective strengths and weaknesses. And we'll finish by having a good solid think about where the boundaries lie between maths, coding, and engineering; the role of tinkering methodologies in maths engagement; and areas of mathematics which might lend themselves to the sorts of approach explored in the session. Bring a willingness to rough things out with a pencil, and leave with... maybe a new project idea?

• 3D printing and fabrication, with Newcastle University's Christian Lawson-Perfect and JMU's Laura Taalman.

  The technology of 3D printing allows for models and prototypes to be easily made using computer design. Learn from Christian how to build basic 3D models and where you can access ready-made models and printing services. Then see how Laura has used 3D printed models to communicate mathematical ideas, and what kinds of challenges and benefits arise when creating hands-on mathematical models with 3D printing.

• Zine Making, with science communicator and illustrator Hana Ayoob.

  Zines are small self-published magazines or pamphlets which are usually produced in small numbers and given away for free or sold for a small fee. Both finished zines and zine making workshops can be used within science communication and engagement. Find out more about the possibilities of zine making, share your own experiences & make your own simple zine in this informal session.

Workshop Leaders

James Grime started making his first maths YouTube videos while working as a postdoc in 2008. James has made maths videos with Cambridge University, the Royal Institution, and MathsWorldUK, and is also a presenter on the popular YouTube channel Numberphile, which now has over 4 million subscribers worldwide.

Jonathan Sanderson is accidentally an Assistant Professor at Northumbria University, where he works in the NUSTEM outreach group. He also lectures in the Department of Computer & Information Sciences, where his research interests cover formal and informal learning in computer science, tinkering and making approaches, and family engagement. In a previous life he was a film-maker. Claims that he once crashed one of the UK's largest supercomputers have never been proven.

Christian Lawson-Perfect is a learning software developer at Newcastle University, and recreational mathematician with eclectic interests. He is involved in countless online maths communication projects, chiefly the maths blog The Aperiodical. He makes mathematical toys and games, usually online but occasionally physical, through 3D printing. Everything he does is collected at somethingorotherwhatever.com.

Laura Taalman is a Professor of Mathematics at James Madison University whose published research has included algebraic geometry, knot theory, and games. Also known as “mathgrrl”, Dr. Taalman is a computational designer who leverages a diverse toolbox of 3D design software and technical materials to create mathematical art. She is a Project NExT Fellow, a recipient of the Alder Award, Trevor Evans Award, and SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award, and has been featured on Thingiverse, Adafruit, and Science Friday.

Hana Ayoob is a science communicator and illustrator who is passionate about bringing people together to explore the world around them through science and art. Hana studied zoology at university and continues to indulge her interest in weird and wonderful animals by drawing and talking about them whenever she gets the chance. Hana has produced illustrations for a range of books, including maths books for children, industry publications, logos and more, and was awarded one of The Big Draw’s artists’ residencies in 2021. She produces and speaks at a range of events, performs science-inspired stand-up comedy, runs creative workshops and provides public engagement and science communication consultancy. Hana is also a co-host of the podcast Why Aren’t You a Doctor Yet?.

Tea and coffee (with dairy, oat and soya milk and herbal teas), served with a selection of cookies including gluten free and vegan alternatives, will be served in the Herschel lobby outside LT1. Remote attendees can chat with in-person attendees in LT1.

Moving graphics can make mathematics more accessible and engaging. From moving constructions in Geogebra and computer-generated animations using software like the MANIM package, to painstaking stop-motion graphics, mathematics in motion can hugely improve videos and live presentations, and allow complex concepts to be simplified and explained. Our panel will share their experiences of generating different types of moving mathematics, and describe how they use it to move their audiences too.

Chaired by Ben Sparks.

Panellists

Grant Sanderson (remote panellist) is the author of the YouTube channel 3Blue1Brown, which focuses on higher mathematics with a distinct visual perspective - including animations and computer-generated graphics - and has over 5 million subscribers. He created the open-source python library manim for creating mathematical visualizations, which has since been used by thousands of others.

Alison Kiddle is a mathematician, educator and maths communicator based in the East of England, who uses Geogebra to create engaging mathematical interactives and visualisations.

Ayliean MacDonald is a freelance mathemactivist and craftamatician based in Scotland, and MathsCity's Community Mathematician for 2023. Her art often focuses on the use of timelapse drawings of patterns and fractals to show growth and progression of sequences which may not be obvious through still images.

Audience researcher Hannah-Rose Ford Tomlinson will share their insights working with and studying different audiences at Manchester's Science and Industry Museum, and discuss how we can define and work with our own audiences.

Hannah-Rose is an Audience Researcher at the Science Museum Group specialising in engaging neurodivergent audiences. They carry out targeted research to understand and advocate for audiences, supporting the development and delivery of galleries, exhibitions, learning resources, programmes, events and activities. Hannah is also a freelance science communicator, presenter, and content developer, and has worked with BBC Bitesize, BBC Teach, and Blue Peter.

Final information for the day and information about the evening's social activities.

Buffet dinner at COSMO, Newgate St, with all in-person attendees.

Drinks and networking at the Pacific House mezzanine area.

A chance to find out about maths outreach and engagement projects and showcase your work.

Talks in this session:

• Kat Phillips - How I learned to stop worrying and love the Comm
• Cindy Lawrence - MOST Program
• Rachel Beddoes - Why Maths!
• Susan Bugby - Maths on Toast
• Sarah Denison - Developing diversity in maths
• Katie Chicot - Hands-on Maths of Planet Earth
• Charlotte Zwetsloot - Math trail Leiden
• Francien Bossema - PhD research in the Rijksmuseum

This session will include a presentation from the recipient of the 2023 MEGA Grant, introduced by Stand-up Mathematician Matt Parker.

The full list of talks, with blurbs and links, is available here: Lightning Talks PDF

How about delving into the rooms of Hilbert Hotel filled with the personal belongings of famous mathematicians, or getting lost in a non-Euclidean dream landscape? These are just some of the fascinating research explorations we undertake at MIP.labor, an experimental laboratory for cutting-edge science journalism in mathematics, computer science, and physics. With our fellowships, we enable established and aspiring science journalists to develop journalistic projects in these fields over six or twelve months, incorporating the latest research findings.

The result? Innovative and tailor-made media formats that tackle complex topics, with a special focus on engaging younger audiences. Located at Freie Universität Berlin and founded by Klaus Tschira Stiftung, MIP.labor employs our own unique tools that draw on current and established research in science communication, infused with elements of design thinking and constant adaptation based on new insights. Our work also includes rigorous scientific supervision of format development and evaluation of the projects.

In my talk, I'll be sharing our working methods, providing glimpses into our completed and ongoing research projects, and sparking discussions on the importance of distinctively addressing science communication about the mathematical sciences.

Anna Maria Hartkopf is an expert in science communication specialising in mathematics. A trained mathematician, she is at the helm of MIP.labor at Freie Universität Berlin. Together with Erin Henning she has edited the Handbook of Mathematical Science Communication. She laid the foundations of her pioneering work to establish the field of “science communication in mathematics” as an academic discipline with her PhD thesis. Her practical experience as a maths communicator includes working at the Mathematical Research Institute Oberwolfach coordinating the IMAGINARY exhibition, being a mathematics teacher at a Berlin comprehensive School and conducting various formats of science journalism and communication.

Tea and coffee (with dairy, oat and soya milk and herbal teas), served with a selection of pastries including gluten free and vegan alternatives, will be served in the Herschel lobby outside LT1. Remote attendees can chat with in-person attendees in LT1.

While we love to talk about abstract topics and share beautiful mathematical ideas, much of the communication of mathematics that many people see and engage with relates to more everyday topics - interpreting statistics in newspapers, applying maths to finance, and basic problem-solving skills. As well as being a focus of the new Core Maths qualification, this kind of mathematics is taught as part of adult numeracy courses, and used daily by people making estimates and rough calculations in their life and work. We’ll discuss the various ways people can engage with everyday maths, and how communication with these audiences differs from other forms of maths outreach.

Chaired by Kevin Houston.

Panellists

Cat van Saarloos joined maths education charity MEI in 2018. Prior to this, she spent 13 years teaching and leading in schools and Further Education in Liverpool. Her work involves delivering courses on Level 3 Core Maths and maths in A level Psychology for the Advanced Maths Support Programme. She has designed engaging and relevant classroom resources which have been well received and widely used. Cat is passionate about making maths accessible and enjoyable and helping students see its importance.

Katie Chicot is a Senior Lecturer, Staff tutor in Mathematics and Statistics at the Open University. This involves working with students, tutors and creating materials. Her work at the OU involves the foundational module ‘Discovering Mathematics’, where over 2000 adults are re-introduced to school level mathematics every year.
Alongside her OU role Katie is the CEO of MathsWorldUK whose aim is to create the UK’s first National Mathematics Discovery Centre. In 2021 MathsWorldUK launched MathsCity, a small hands-on maths centre in Trinity Leeds shopping mall. Katie is currently the Chair of the European Mathematical Society Public Outreach and Engagement committee and is on the governing body of the International Day of Mathematics.

Rob Eastaway is an author and maths speaker, who was awarded the Zeeman medal in 2017 for excellence in the promotion of maths. He is best known for his books, including Maths on the Back of an Envelope, Why Do Buses Come in Threes? and Maths for Mums and Dads.

Lunch will be served in the Herschel lobby, outside LT1. There will be a vegetarian buffet, with tea, coffee and juice.

Buffet summary: a selection of wraps including cheese and pickle, cheese savoury, pepper and houmous and falafel salad, as well as onion bhajis, pakoras, vegetarian spring rolls, olives, tomatoes and fruit. Tea and coffee (with dairy, oat and soya milk and herbal teas), fruit juice and water.

During this session, our professional photographer will be available in the Herschel lobby to take headshots of attendees. Join the queue if you want a headshot photo taking, free for your own use.

Four discussion topics split into two parallel rooms. Sessions will be led by a chair, who will introduce the topic and then open to the room, coordinating questions and responses from in-person and remote attendees. These sessions will be split between Lecture Theatre 1 (LT1), which is the main conference room, and the Curtis Auditorium, which is also on the ground floor, at the end of the Herschel Lobby.

Parallel Sessions - 14.00-14.45

• LT1: University students and maths outreach (chair: Tamsin Smith)

  Undergraduate and postgraduate university students are a valuable resource to maths communication, and many who start doing outreach at uni progress on to successful careers in the field. How can those based in universities usefully employ students and involve them in maths outreach, and what opportunities are available to students to develop their skills?

• Curtis: Maths communication as a cultural endeavour (chair: Hana Ayoob)

  Much of mathematical outreach takes the form of enrichment or education-adjacent activities for kids. But is it our repsonsibility as communicators to promote maths beyond this, creating a space for maths as a cultural endeavour and providing opportunities for adults to engage too? What kind of events already exist in this space, how do we define and approach these audiences, and how can such events be supported?

Parallel Sessions - 14.45-15.30

• LT1: Broadening diversity conversations: intersectionality in audiences and practitioners (chair: Sarah Cosgriff)

  Intersectionality concerns the way a person's social and political identities can combine to affect how they experience discrimination and privilege. How can we develop maths communication activities - and build organisations - which are inclusive to people from all backgrounds, and go beyond just talking about gender in diversity conversations?

• Curtis: Careers in maths communication (chair: Takita Bartlett-Lashley)

  Mathematical communicators work in a variety of ways, from full- or part-time freelancers to those working wholly within organisations and those who work on an ad-hoc basis. It can be difficult to negotiate building a career (and working out how to get paid for maths communication activities!) We'll discuss the different routes into a career in maths comm, and what careers look like in this context, as well as sharing tips for building your networks and portfolio, and how to juggle maths communication with other kinds of work.

Discussion chairs

Tamsin Smith is a lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Bath. She has an interest in maths education, outreach and the school to university transition and is particularly keen to find ways to enable and encourage student involvement in outreach activities and provide students with opportunities and experiences in maths communication or teaching. She convenes the undergraduate Communicating Maths module and runs the universities MAST (Maths And Statistics Teaching) service.

Sarah Cosgriff is a science communicator with 10 years of experience working within STEM education. Her work focuses on equity, diversity and inclusion within education settings, through training, developing resources, advocacy and consulting, with a focus on STEM and LGBTQ+. She also works in more general science communication and public engagement, including training, consulting and delivery for universities, science festivals and science institutes.

Hana Ayoob is a science communicator and illustrator who is passionate about bringing people together to explore the world around them through science and art. She produces and speaks at a range of events, performs science-inspired stand-up comedy, runs creative workshops and provides public engagement and science communication consultancy.

Working at the intersection of STEM, fashion and education, Takita Bartlett-Lashley enjoys exploring and communicating creative applications of maths and technology across fashion and design. Her mathematical clothing/jewellery designs have doubled as educational tools gracing the red carpet and classrooms alike, along with her initiative, STEM in Style, delivering STEAM events/workshops for over 2000+ young people. Currently working in AI and Data Science in the fashion retail space, Takita continues to deliver and facilitate workshops for audiences nationally and internationally.

Tea and coffee (with dairy, oat and soya milk and herbal teas), served with a selection of cookies including gluten free and vegan alternatives, will be served in the Herschel lobby outside LT1. Remote attendees can chat with in-person attendees in LT1.

Join science communicator and illustrator Hana Ayoob for some simple (and less simple!) mathematical drawing tasks, for a relaxing chance to chat with fellow attendees and pick up some activity ideas.

Howie Hua is a math instructor at Fresno State who teaches math to future elementary school teachers. He is passionate about finding ways to humanize the math classroom, listening to how students think about math, and building mathematical confidence in students. In 2019, Howie was named Outstanding Lecturer for the College of Science and Math at his university. Outside of school, Howie likes to play piano, go on walks, make math memes, and make math explainer videos.

Chaim Goodman-Strauss is a mathematician and artist who works in convex geometry, especially aperiodic tiling, and was one of the co-authors on the recent aperiodic tiling discovery. He is on the faculty at the University of Arkansas and is a co-author with John H. Conway and Heidi Burgiel of the book The Symmetries of Things. Chaim was awarded the 2021 Rosenthal Prize for Innovation and Inspiration in Math Teaching, for designing a hands-on classroom activity exploring planar symmetries. He is currently working with MoMath in New York to deliver outreach activities, and creates large-scale sculptures inspired by mathematics which have regularly featured at Gathering 4 Gardner events.

Final information for the day, information about the evening's social activities and the plan for Saturday morning.

In-person delegates will sign up for dinner in one of a selection of locations with a range of cuisines and price ranges, to split into smaller groups, followed by socialising at Bealim House.

On the morning of Saturday 2nd September, we will be running a range of networking activities for attendees to participate in. You may join any or all of these as you wish. If you have luggage with you, you will be able to leave this in Bewick Hall at the Library, which we have booked from 10.30am-1.30pm for conference attendees only.

For remote attendees, there will be an online space to network, chat, craft and play games, and the treasure hunt (details below) can also be completed remotely.

• Life (Science Centre) - Times Square (near the train station), open from 10.00
  TMiP attendees can obtain half-price tickets to Newcastle's hands-on science centre by showing your TMiP lanyard at the front desk. The 50% offer runs from 31st August to 3rd September, for one TMiP lanyard holder and up to five extra people (to cover families coming with them). Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer.

  Life has multiple exhibition spaces and hands-on interactive exhibits - including a new hands-on Wow Zone that opened this year - as well as Making Studios, Science Theatre, Experiment Zone and Planetarium with shows and activities running throughout the days. For more information, check the Life Science Centre website.

• Public Maths Tiling Build with Chaim Goodman-Strauss and Matt Parker - 10.30-12.30, outside Bewick Hall, City Library. (Tiling build info website)

  Our keynote speaker and MoMath Mathematician in Residence will be organising a big public mathematical aperiodic tiling build, which members of the public can join in with (and Matt Parker will also be there, as well as Dave Smith who discovered the tiling). If you'd like to help run this, or just join in as a member of the public, you'd be very welcome!

• 'Tyne Trial' Puzzle Trail by Matthew Scroggs - 10.00-12.30, starting at City Library

  Chalkdust Magazine supremo Scroggs is reprising his role from TMiP 2019 & TMiP 2021, and putting together an interactive puzzle trail that will take you around the city centre, covering the area between the station and the university. The trail should take up to an hour, and involve up to around 2 miles of walking, all of which will be level access. To participate, come to the City Library from 10.00 onwards, where Scroggs will be (outside: 10.00-10.30; at Bewick Hall 10.30-12.30) handing out the instructions to anyone with a TMiP lanyard.
  The trail should also be possible for remote attendees to complete using Google Streetview and online maps - join the conference Zoom room to get the details.

• Board Games - 10.30-12.30, Bewick Hall, City Library & in Zoom breakout

  We'll have access to Newcastle City Library's extensive collection of board games, and have arranged to borrow some especially mathematical titles for the morning, including 6 nimmt!, Dobble, Hanabi, Kingdomino, Patchwork, Quoridor, Qwirkle and Tokaido (plus many more!)

• Craft Activities - 10.30-12.30, Bewick Hall, City Library & in Zoom breakout

  Bring along your latest craft project, or join in with some mathematical crafting activities - knitting, cross-stitch, origami or something else!

Bewick Hall is on the left just inside the entrance to the library, approached along Northumberland Place from the main high street. The cafe in the library will not be available, but we should have a simple hot water/teabags/instant coffee setup (with a range of milks), and they're happy for us to bring drinks and snacks in from outside - The Coffee Trader is on the approach to the library.

At 12.30 we will be recombining the Bewick Hall area and turning it into a lunch venue for our closing session. We will need to vacate the room briefly at 12.30 to facilitate this, after which a buffet will be served and final announcements made, and the conference will finish at 13.30.

Buffet summary: sandwiches including cheese, cheese savoury, egg mayonnaise, brie and cranberry, Greek salad with feta cheese and a selection of vegetarian ’meats’ with salad in a selection of white and brown buns and bread. Selection of onion bhajis, samosas, spring rolls, quiche, cheese rolls, cheese bites and pizza. Range of soft drinks and water.

During this session there will be the opportunity to share your favourite moments and things you've learned during the TMiP conference, and if you'd be interested in sharing something, tell the organisers on the day.

Announcements from this session will be streamed to remote attendees, alongside a virtual lunch - feel free to grab your lunch while you join us.