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motivating pupils for math and science
The activity



Dutch Mathematics Day Contest 2017 (age group 15 years old)		More space for the festival

The Netherlands are becoming more and more a festival country: a lot of festivals are held in summer, from Lowlands to "De Parade". Existing sites are often temporarily transformed into festival grounds for a festival. That means there must be electricity available, there are podiums to be built, the soil should be reinforced, there should be toilets, catering, chill spots, etcetera.
Every year, the number of people attending the festivals is also increasing. That means larger "renovations" and thus: more costs. Afterwards, generally, the site is restored to its original state. All of this costs a lot of money!
In this task you will figure out how to do it cheaply, while taking into account both the wishes of the owner of the grounds (the local authority ) and the wishes of the festival organizers.
Background information

Dutch Mathematics Day Contest

During the Dutch Mathematics Day Contest students work in teams of about 3 to 4 members on an open mathematical problem solving task during a couple of hours. The product of this work is a report (and sometimes a presentation).


Dutch Mathematics Day Contest 		Using your skills in a new setting
  • The task gives the students the opportunity to show what they have learned from mathematics and how they can use the knowledge and skills in a new situation.
  • Students can try, analyze, reason, calculate en design;
  • The (context of the) task is authentic, while the mathematics knowledge is easy to (re)use in this new situation;
  • Different teams can work 'on their own level' and this gives opportunities for differentiation;
  • There is a structure in the task from 'easy first steps' to a more complex end task.

Online learning objects from the Freudenthal Institute (Utrecht University)