Maths Week Scotland is not just for schools! Maths is in the world around us, and there are plenty of ways for any group to have fun with maths. Whatever the age and interests of your group, there are ways for them to take part in Maths Week Scotland.
Community Based Learners Pack
Our 2023 Community Learning Resource Pack contains ways for adult learners and families to celebrate and enjoy Maths Week Scotland. The pack takes the Maths in Motion theme from 2023 and shows how there are numbers in almost everything that we do and think about.
We also still have our 2022 Community Based Learning Pack available, with ideas for activities to do with a range of community based learners including adult groups, ESOL learners and families. Themes covered included Beauty of Maths, Maths in Your Environment, and Maths at Work.
Plan a family friendly session with songs, stories and rhymes. Scottish Book Trust created the Bookbug resource for Maths Week Scotland for anyone to run a fun session with a mathematical theme!
Science Centres, museums and galleries across the country take part in Maths Week Scotland every year with special events, activities and exhibitions. Find out what is happening near you on our events page.
Code-breaking can be a fun way to use logic skills at all ages. This cryptography challenge has some set codes to break but also shows you how to write your own. Try creating your own coded messages for others to crack!
We use maths every day to travel to work, meet friends and go on day trips. Taking a day trip or nature walk is an ideal scenario to use and discuss our maths and numeracy skills.
Use a map to decide where you want to go. Talk about different routes you could take and different ways you could travel. Why you would take some but not others?
Do the walk at different times of day. What do you notice changes?
If you have taken a naure walk carry out a nature survey. Measure out a 1m x 1m square and note down or collect items from inside it. Repeat the survey in a different place on the walk and record what you notice?
Shape Hunt
A shape hunt is a fun activity to do with groups of children or young people. Whether you live in a rural or an urban area, head outside for a walk around your local neighbourhood to see what shapes you can discover. Depending how many of you there are, you could also split up in to smaller groups and have a competition to see who can find a certain list of shapes first, or who finds the most shapes.
Maths inside is an annual photo competition open to everyone in Scotland. Maths is part of our daily life, have you ever thought about it? The home, exercise route, daily dog walks and the weekly shop turned into a playground… this is your chance to get creative and make mathematical connections! Can you see the maths inside?
Thecompetition will next be open in September 2024.
Many of the family activities on our website are also suitable for community groups, including puzzles, games, and art & craft activities. You can filter by age and type to find the perfect activity for your group!
It's Spring in Edinburgh means, which means the return of the Edinburgh Science Festival (30 March - 14 April)! This years theme is Shaping the Future, and we've browsed through the programme to pick out some of our maths highlights for you.
To mark World Meteorological Day (23 March), we are delighted to share a guest post from Professor Sylvia Knight, Head of Education at the Royal Meteorological Society, to introduce their new Climate Change Concept tool and show how teachers can use it to support maths in the curriculum.
