Jugglers, card tricks draw fifth graders to UW-Platteville's Math in Motion

Some of these kids are rural and they may not even have a chance to see a college. (But) these are the future designers. The future engineers of the world. We hope they're introduced to UW-Platteville and college in general.

• - UW-Platteville Assistant Mathematics Professor Kathleen Volz

For nearly 200 southwestern Wisconsin fifth graders, math class Tuesday didn't start with worksheets or whiteboards. The lessons began at UW-Platteville, with cheers, card tricks and jugglers.

For three hours, scores of fifth graders from Benton, Shullsburg, Highland, Fennimore and Platteville sat transfixed in Ullsvik Hall's Velzy Commons as UW-Platteville math instructors walked them through card tricks and a pair of jugglers explained how they use math to map out their acts as part of the university's third annual Math in Motion event.

"It gets them excited about math at a time when they start to beat it out of you," Associate Provost Holly Attenborough, who holds a doctorate in mathematics, said as she watched the show. "It gets so test-focused that it can strip away the curiosity. Learning is more than a test. It's more than just the division you're doing in the classroom."