Being able to visit Math Alive! was the highly anticipated event of our week last Friday. My little boy (8) was SO excited to be able to be one of the first kids to check out this talked about new exhibit at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
I’ve been a native of Cincinnati for 3 years; however, I had never visited the Air Force Museum before, so we made a day trip out of it. Let me tell you how AWESOME this Math Alive! exhibit was!
When children think about math, they don’t realize that almost everything in our world involves math, such as building skyscrapers, making music or even designing snowboards. That’s what this new Math Alive! exhibit was brought to Dayton to do: make kids excited about math. Math Alive! is a STEM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), featuring about 20 interactive exhibits that get kids thinking and learning through the things they love most: selfies, robots, video games, music, and more.
Some of our favorite exhibits included:
- 1. Game Developer: A 3D mapping game navigating an object in space; after creating their object, kids can test it out in a real computer program
- 2. Style Revolution: Kids are invited to take a 360 degree selfie with 20 cameras snapping their picture at once
- 3. Mix It Up: Using fractions to make beats of music
- 4. Building a Skyscraper: Choose your location, height of building, anchor supports, and bracing and then test your building against wind, weather, and earthquakes.
- 5. Boardercross: Snowboarding using velocity and balance
- 6. Ramp It Up: Design your own skateboard by choosing the shape, length, wheel size, tail, and length. But can it make the jump? Try it!
We had a blast experimenting and trying out all of the exhibits. Many of them required you to think and really find out how math plays a role in the task or game. In this exhibit, you will have the opportunity to ride a snowboard, design a skateboard, plan an eco-friendly city, operate a robotic arm, take a 360-degree selfie, create a binary silhouette, and even test contaminated waters to make sure they are safe for swimming.
Math Alive! gives kids the opportunity to get excited about math, and helps them realize that they will always use the math they are learning at school.
The Math Alive! exhibit is free and open to the public during regular Air Force Museum hours. But, you better hurry! The exhibit is only up through Oct 2, 2016. For more information, you can visit www.museumofaviation.org or call 478-926-6870.
Are you heading to Math Alive!? We want to hear what you think and see your pictures! Tag us on Instagram @CincyParent and use hashtag #MathAlive
 
About Erica:
Erica is the blogger and writer behind the popular preschool blog, eLeMeNO-P Kids. She’s a wife, mom, and preschool teacher at the Countryside YMCA | Landen location right here in Cincinnati. Follow Erica’s preschool adventures on Facebook and Instagram!Â
