The second plus-MINT Math Camp at the Steinmühle produced the best Bolyai team in all of Hesse

For the second time, Steinmühle hosted the plus-MINT Math Camp as part of the plus-MINT talent development program, organized and led this year by Maximilian Moll. In January, 22 students gathered for four days and had an exciting time participating in a varied math program that included several field trips.

Young math enthusiasts from grades 10 and 11 arrived at the Steinmühlen campus from all corners of the country: Participants from Birklehof High School, Louisenlund, St. Afra Saxon State High School, and Pforta State School—they all worked on math problems and puzzles together with students from Steinmühle High School.

 

Geometry on a Sphere

On Monday, the group arrived and was welcomed in the boarding school’s tea room with drinks and snacks. Afterward, they headed to the Lahnberge hills in Marburg to participate in the workshop “Geometry, Topology, and Spherical Triangles” with Prof. Dr. Oliver Goertsches from Department 12 (Mathematics and Computer Science). Topics covered included the geometry of the sphere, dihedra, and the derivation of the area of a spherical triangle.

The next morning, the students were set to compete in the Bolyai Competition. In this multiple-choice math competition, team performance is what counts. Talea Wagner, Zora Herrmann, Alfred Sontag, and Alexa Lehmann achieved an outstanding result. They took first place out of 134 teams in Hesse! This high-performing group also took first place nationwide, tied on points with the team from the Landesgymnasium für Hochbegabte in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Unfortunately, the quartet missed out on advancing to the final round in Budapest in the tiebreaker. Still, it was a fantastic performance by the four of them that day!

 

Calculating Logarithms in Your Head

The team competition was followed by a workshop with Dr. Karl-Heinz Muth: “Math Tricks to Help in Everyday Life—From the Calendar to the pH Value.” The students gained many fascinating insights into mathematical relationships. For example, they calculated logarithms in their heads and learned how to determine the day of the week of a given birth date mentally.

The day’s mathematics program concluded with a workshop led by Prof. Dr. István Heckenberger titled “Games, Logic, Mathematics.” Topics included a Hungarian board game with a brief introduction to logic in mathematics.

It wasn’t just the daytime program at the +MINT Math Camp that was sports-oriented: The evening wrapped up at the Steinmühle with an exercise session.

 

Field Trip to the Mathematikum

On Wednesday, the group took a trip to Gießen and visited the Mathematikum. The doors of the popular hands-on museum opened exclusively for the “MINTIs” during renovation week.

The group had actually planned to go on a math scavenger hunt in Marburg’s old town afterward. However, the heavy snowfall that set in put a stop to those plans.

The math camp ultimately wrapped up with a special dinner in the cafeteria, featuring a three-course meal by candlelight.

To sum up the entire event, Steinmühle noted a very positive overall atmosphere, engaging presentations, and successful cross-school networking.

The participants quickly realized among themselves: We can count on you!