Math Magic shows highlight 'the beautiful and the absurd'

Prince Edward Islanders of all ages and math abilities are invited to take a new look at math in shows to be presented at the public libraries in Charlottetown and Summerside.

The Math Magic show recently won the 2017 Excellence in Education Award from Education 20/20.

The show features card tricks, shoelace tying and a Rubik's Cube to demonstrate some basic math concepts, and then moves on to some more unfamiliar ground.

"By the end of it, we'll be looking at the Fibonacci sequence and vortex cannons and crocheted non-Euclidean planes and other things that people may not have heard of," said show presenter Nellie Keating.

Keating works for Scotchfort-based coSolved Consulting, which developed the show, and brings her experience as a classroom teacher and co-founder of the Halifax Circus School.

"We've been teaching math in the same way for 100 years, and I think that sometimes the beautiful and the absurd and poetic sides of math can be overlooked in the slog to memorize the multiplication tables," said Keating.

The shows will be presented during Global Math Week, Oct. 14-21.

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