Welcome to the BEAM Blog!
Thank you BEAM supporters!
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to BEAM!
Now that our summer programs are over, our students would like to tell you what they accomplished.
“I solved a lot of challenge problems with my friends.” —Ruth, BEAM Discovery
“I solved 12 problems in the 100 Problem Challenge.” — Vernon, BEAM Discovery
“I learned some coding and got WAY better at it. BEAM made me love math and realize my passion for it!” —Mia, BEAM Discovery
“This is my first ever program and I loved it! I’m glad that you helped support BEAM.” —Hayden, BEAM Discovery
“BEAM helped me see math in a whole different way. THANKS.” —Sanjana, BEAM Discovery
“BEAM is a glowing star.” (left) —Estefani, BEAM Discovery
“BEAM is out of this world.” (right) —Allison, BEAM Discovery
Exponents, Reciprocals, Expected Values, Oh My! Day 19...
Exponents. Reciprocals. Cubes. Relays. Career Day. Check out day 19 BEAM Discovery Downtown!
There was a lot going on at BEAM Discovery Downtown on Day 19! In Exponents: Super Powered Numbers, students tested their classmates’ laws about exponents. Students explored reciprocals in Fractions: Puzzles, Problems, and Games. And in Big Questions and Big Answers, students learned how to calculate expected values and played a dice game where they tried to beat the odds.
In Open Math Time, students worked on Problem Sets and the 100 Problem Challenge. Downtown students are getting close to claiming the prize for solving all 100 problems!
Relays! BEAM students can choose collaborative or competitive categories for Relays, where teams work to solve problems together.
During activities, students played chess, learned new knots in knitting, worked with Snap Circuits, and more.
“What’s it really like to work at Google?” “How do you know when something is fake news?” BEAM students asked great questions of STEM professionals from Google, Reuters, Harvard, MIT, and more as part of Career Day at BEAM Discovery Downtown.
BEAM Discovery Uptown Day 18!
Students were busy on Day 18 of BEAM Discovery Uptown!
Students were busy on Day 18 of BEAM Discovery Uptown. After breakfast, some students started the day in the class Playing with Logic, where they explored the Shuttle Puzzle by becoming the puzzle pieces. (Classes at BEAM are unlike anything most students see at school. Other classes this week include Math for Pirates and Learning from The Number Devil.)
During Open Math Time, when students get to choose what math they work on, some students completed problem sets from their classes. Students are often encouraged to work together to find the answers.
In Applied Math, students talked about game strategies and how to win at games, like Nim. They asked the question, “Can strategies help you win even at a game like Rock, Paper, Scissors, that seems all about luck?” Yes, they decided, by doing things like looking for patterns in your opponent’s play. To test their theories, they squared off in a Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament!
Students checked out the 100 Problem Challenge. As of today, only one problem remains! If the students solve all 100, they win a special prize.
A group of students discussed Problem 74 with Xavier, a veteran faculty member.
Are you up to the challenge? Here’s Problem 74:
In Problem 53, you found a way to link three rings so that if you cut just one of the three rings, the other two would come apart.
In this problem, your goal is to do the same thing but with four rings. Together, all four should be linked. But cut any one of the four rings, and the other three should come apart. (Hint: try using pipe cleaners, like the students above, to help visualize the problem.)
Activities at Beam Discovery
Activities at BEAM Discovery’s Downtown site is one of the ways we unwind and socialize with each other. During Week 3 we were able to take great pictures of students and staff having a great time.
Basketball
Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament
Kickball
Friendship Bracelet Making
A Day at BEAM Discovery
So what exactly happens at BEAM Discovery? Here’s a look at a typical day, featuring photos from BEAM Discovery’s Downtown NYC campus!
The morning starts with breakfast, followed by morning classes. BEAM believes in choice, so students pick classes, which might be “Beating Sherlock” or “Fractions, Puzzles, and Games.”
After class, students have an hour of Open Math Time, time where they can work on any math they choose, individually or in groups. They make sure to complete required PSets (problem sets) from class, and they can then explore challenges (the Problem of the Week or the 100 Problem Challenge), math books, coding websites, the Art of Problem Solving, and more.
After class, it’s on to activities! BEAM students get their choice of sports, board games, arts and crafts, and other creative activities. Recent hits included how to solve a Rubik’s cube, origami, anime club, and relay tic-tac-toe.
After activities, it’s off to lunch. BEAM pays for catered lunch from local restaurants every day. These photos are from empanada Thursday!
Most days, the afternoon block features an exact repeat of the morning block: class, open math time, activities. But one day each week, we have special afternoons, which feature Relays, a team-based math competition where students solve math challenges with some silliness mixed in. A recent problem required students to hum a tune their judge would recognize before they gave their math answer!
When the day wraps up, students join their travel groups to take the subway home and relax and recharge so their brains are fresh for another day at BEAM!
BEAM Discovery Week 1 Survey Highlights
With Week 1 of BEAM Discovery finished here at the Downtown site, we’ve taken time to distribute and review surveys from students on how the program’s been going for them. These surveys are anonymous and ask about the classes they’re taking, Open Math Time, and other aspects of the program like activities and general concerns. It’s always great to hear straight from the students, so we’ve compiled ten excerpts from the Week 1 Surveys at BEAM Discovery Downtown.
What is good about the class?
”Ron clearly explains things about what we’re learning, and if we don’t understand he explains it to us.”
What would you like to change about the class?
“I won’t really change anything because I like the class just the way it is.”
What do you think of Open Math Time?
“Eat, Work, Talk”
Have you been able to get everything done that you want to get done?
“Yes I have. I had to perservere (persevere) for this.”
Have you been able to get everything done that you want to get done?
“Yea because I feel confident in myself.”
What do you think of Open Math Time?
“I think it’s great because you get to do more math.”
What do you think of Open Math Time?
“I really like open math time because it gives me time to do the 100 problem challenge.”
Any other comments on your logical reasoning course?
“It is confusing, making it exciting + (and) my favorite course.”
Do you have any other comments on the program?
“It is a very unique program.”
What is good about the class?
“This class is pretty interesting and also hard but easy”
What would you like to change about the class?
“Nothing”
What is good about the class?
“You get to see stuff you never see before.”
What would you like to change about the class?
“Nothing.”
What is good about the class?
“the way Manix he explains really good and he make sure everyone understands. Also he comes up with interesting problem.”
Do you have any other comments on the program?
“That BEAM is AMAZING”
BEAM Summer Away at Bard Week 1!
Week 1 at BEAM Summer Away at Bard!
Week 1 at Bard was great!
Tuesday through Saturday, students attended classes of their choice. First week classes included Geometry, Cryptography, Number Theory, Paper Folding, Solving Big Problems, and Math Team Strategies.
Adri and Zhixing work on problems involving triangles in Geometry.
Students also participated in a variety of activities, from basketball, to making a solar oven, to playing Ricochet Robots, to Billie Eilish appreciation. In addition, there was a five-mile hike and a trip to Zoom Flume Water Park!
Stay tuned for week 2 news!
Fun at the waterpark
Fieldtrip to the waterpark!
Students at BEAM Summer Away Union College enjoy a day at the waterpark!
Mathematician Edray Goins Visits BEAM at Harvey Mudd
Edray Goins Visits BEAM Harvey Mudd
This weekend, Dr. Edray Goins, mathematics professor at Pomona College, gave a brilliant talk to students and faculty at BEAM Summer Away at Harvey Mudd College. Dr. Goins grew up in Los Angeles just like our students and graduated from two of the best universities in the country, California Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Dr. Goins explored with students how the geometric mean and recursive sequences of numbers can be used to find an algorithm for square roots. Students left not only inspired to continue their journey in mathematics, but also driven to keep learning new techniques in math. BEAM students Maxine and Karla said of Dr. Goin’s presentation: “Many new ideas and theories were presented in a way that was straight forward and precise.”
Thank you, Dr. Goins, for truly inspiring us!
Interested in getting to know Dr. Goins better? Check out this profile of him, featured in The New York Times in February.
Welcome to BEAM Summer Away at Union College!
Our program at Union College starts tomorrow! More updates are coming soon.
