It’s All Adding Up For Maths Week In The Midlands

Isla Harrington from Athlone having fun with the Rubix Cube in advance of maths week. The popular puzzle has one core, eight corner cubies, and 12 edge cubies. This means the total number of ways you can scramble a Rubik’s cube is 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 !!!

God’s Number  is the name given to the smallest number of moves needed to solve the puzzle from any random starting position. Since July of 2010 we know that this number is 20, so every position can be solved in twenty moves or less. This number was calculated thanks to Google who donated 36 CPU-years of idle computer time, solving every position of the Rubik’s Cube in  20 moves. The first estimation of the God’s Number was 52 moves in July 1981. Then this number was gradually decreasing. 42 in 1990, 29 in 2000, 22 in 2008, reaching the final number of 20.

Midlands Science is looking forward to celebrating Maths Week in the Midlands next month. Maths Week takes place all over Ireland this October 12th to 20th with a series of interactive workshops for students being undertaken by Midlands Science across the region. The not-for-profit delivers STEM workshops free of charge to primary and secondary schools, after schools, youth groups, and events for the general public throughout the year. Originating in 2006, Maths Week Ireland is an all-island initiative which engaged with over 500,000 people in 2023, helping to further promote positive attitudes to maths, maths related careers, and its general importance in our lives.

Jackie Gorman, CEO of Midlands Science  outlined the importance of maths in our lives. “Maths is a core element of STEM – science, technology, engineering, and maths. We all use maths in our daily lives and recognising its importance can help encourage students to spend time improving their numeracy skills. This can help us all to see the relevance of maths to everyday life, maths is in everything from measuring ingredients in recipes to understanding sports league tables and understanding loan rates. We have seen from evaluation last year on our maths outreach that 85% of teachers previously felt that Maths Week activities improved their students’ interest in maths. We are delighted to work with some incredible schools across the midlands to build an increased appreciation for maths this year.”

Science Outreach Executive Criodán Ó Murchú who will be delivering a range of maths activities during the week expressed his enthusiasm for the workshops.   “There was an exceptionally high demand this year for STEM outreach and  workshops across the midlands, which shows us that teachers are aware how beneficial it is for their students to engage in these opportunities. I am really looking forward to Maths Week. Many students are interested in maths, they just might not be aware of it yet! With these workshops, we are hoping to inspire that next generation of mathematicians, actuaries, computer programmers, and help share the fun and discovery that lies at the heart of maths.”

For more information on Midlands Science go to www.midlandsscience.ie