Great media interest in MathCityMap in Slovakia!

The MathCityMap year 2023 was characterized by great media interest in Slovakia. The MathCityMap team in Nitra consists of Veronika Bočková, Michal Fojtík, Silvia Haringová, Janka Medová and Katarína Laššová from the Department of Mathematics at Constantine University of Philosophy (UKF), but they also draw on the expertise of other colleagues in the department. In recent years, math trails have become part of the preparation of future math teachers for all grades. The team from Nitra has trained more than 750 math teachers in education, conducted math trails in more than 20 Slovak schools and prepared workshops for future teachers also abroad. In 2023, the general public and the media became aware of their campaign for the first time.

At the beginning of the calendar year, on January 20, 2023, an article about math trails appeared in the Nitra district newspaper. Readers were able to find out what the math trails are, what their goal is, who can participate in them and which mathematical tasks cause problems for learners. The interview was conducted with PhD student Silvia Haringová.

On February 28, 2023, university students gathered to hear the inspiring stories of their fellow students. During the evening, there were presentations about math trails, successful research in the field of molecular biology at UKF and the importance of volunteering for the further development of students. The Math Trails were also presented by Silvia Haringová.

The SCIENCE ON DOSAH science portal offers a wealth of news, information and entertainment from the world of science and technology. In a single place you can discover everything about science, research, events and other interesting activities in this field in Slovakia.

On May 10, 2023, Janka Medová and Silvia Haringová from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics at UKF spoke about Math Trails in the podcast of the VEDA NA DOSAH portal in Slovak.

Reflex is a daily magazine consisting of stories whose main heroes are the citizens of Slovakia. It is broadcast in the afternoons by Slovakia’s largest private television station, TV Markíza. It consists of strong human stories full of emotions, investigative reports, interesting facts and showbiz. Every day brings new topics, a different atmosphere, a different mood. Veronika Bočková and her students, Janka Medová and Silvia Haringová, were part of this program on June 30, 2023.

Quark Magazine is a magazine about science and technology for all curious people that explains even complex things in simple language. Every month it brings the latest information about science, research, discoveries and new technologies in Slovakia and around the world on 56 pages. The August issue includes four pages about Math Trails with MathCityMap. The questions were answered by Janka Medová and Silvia Haringová.

Every year, an autumn school is organized by Zuzana and Peter Bero, who have been providing math textbooks and workbooks to teachers and students at primary and secondary schools for more than twenty years. This year, Silvia Haringová had the opportunity to give a lecture there. On September 29, 2023, she presented the “Mathematics trails and Matrix” project to more than 100 teachers in training.

The second webinar on math trails was held on November 8, 2023 via the Facebook platform. Around 300 people expressed their interest in this event. In addition to basic information, participants learned how to implement and create mathematical paths. They received useful advice on creating tasks and paths and were informed about the advantages of the Matrix project. The webinar was led by Silvia Haringová, Veronika Bočková and Janka Medová.

Nočná pyramída is a Slovakian radio program broadcast on Radio Slovensko. Radio Slovensko’s night program offers exclusive interviews with interesting guests. Radio Slovensko presenters invite popular artists, prominent scientists, successful athletes, doctors and educators to the studio to discuss both entertaining and serious topics. The invitation to the Night Pyramid was accepted by Janka Medová, who spoke about her professional and private life on November 20, 2023 and also presented Math Trails.
Thanks to the interest of the public and the media, Math-Trails and MathCityMap are becoming more and more popular and their use in math lessons is gradually becoming a welcome activity in all schools in Slovakia.
We are very happy about the great events and achievements and are looking forward to what 2024 has in store for MathCityMap in Slovakia and the other partner countries.