The University of Waterloo's Centre for Education in Math and Computing is conducting an outreach throughout schools and stopped by MacGregor Collegiate today. Professor Barry Ferguson, lecturer in mathematics and Associate Dean for Cooperative Education in the faculty, spoke to several classes including the grade ten class. He explains they've presented this as a form of outreach since the university's inception 60 years ago.

Heather Howarth & Prof. Barry Ferguson"It's just to have fun in playing with mathematics and introduce them to perhaps some areas of mathematics that they may not see," notes Ferguson. "If we have a chance then we talk about careers and we can talk about some of the things that mathematics is used in that they might not think about."

He notes those involved in having created the math faculty at the University those many years ago decided to visit schools and speak to the youth. They've continued that tradition ever since. He notes in a given year, taking into consideration everyone who's involved, they get into about 125 to 150 schools in the country.

Ferguson says if he sees the students actually trying the challenges and asking questions, as well as joking about making a stab at a solution, he knows they're at least getting something out of it, and he has fun while he's doing it.

He adds the value of having this is that he's backing up what the teachers are teaching the classes. Just to have a different voice presenting the education reinforces their efforts, gives teachers some backing for what they're telling the students.

Students Lane Donald and Amy Wiebe both enjoyed the ken-ken challenge.

Lane Donald & Amy Wiebe"He had us figure out a ken-ken, which is basically a sudoku puzzle with lots of different ways to figure it out," says Donald. "It's very challenging. It took us a while. Once he told us what numbers would work out, it became easier."

Wiebe adds, "I think the ken-ken was the most fun of it all -- trying to figure out all the numbers. I'm very into doing sudokus, and it was a little bit more challenging way of doing it."