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Royal Institution Maths Activities
Best suited for First and Second Level
Soap bubbles, paper folding, computers and bridges are all inspiration for these Primary School maths activity ideas from the Royal Institution.
Best suited for First and Second Level
Soap bubbles, paper folding, computers and bridges are all inspiration for these Primary School maths activity ideas from the Royal Institution.
Best suited for First and Second Level
The card game 'Trash' (also known as 'Garbage') is great for number recognition and for practicing number sequences. It can be played with standard playing cards (1 pack of cards per every 2 players).
Best suited for First and Second Level
This is a great card game for practicing simple equations, including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. All you need is one deck of regular playing cards, with the face cards (Jack, Queen, King) removed.
Best suited for First and Second level
Maths War is a great little game to practice different kinds of maths skills, including number values, place value, addition and multiplication. It works best with 2-4 children. All you need is one of two packs of regular playing cards, with the face cards (Jack, Queen, King) removed.
Best suited for First and Second Level
Sevens is a dice game for two or more players, that encourages number and quantity recognition, and basic addition skills.
Best suited for First and Second Level
A quick tutorial on how pupils can make their own tessellation template, so that the repeating pattern fits together.
Best suited for First and Second Level
Tenzi is a dice game for two or more players, which is great for number recognition. You will need a set of ten dice per player.
Best suited for First and Second Level
Create a geometric heart out of squares and triangles, and learn about patterns, fractions and multiplication along the way.
Best suited for First and Second Level
Pig is a dice game for two or more players. It's what's known as a jeopardy game, where you have to decide whether to jeopardise previous points gained by rolling again to gain even more points. As well as practicing basic maths skills counting up your scores, Pig teaches you to think strategically.
Best suited for First, Second and Third Level
Dara is a row building game for two players from Northwest Africa, that encourages number sense, logical thinking and spacial perception. You will need 12 counters per player, plus a pen and some paper, or download or free playing sheet.
Best suited for First, Second and Third Level
These Pi necklaces and bracelets are a fun way for children to learn about Pi and learn the first few digits. It's a great activity for encouraging fine motor skills too.
Best suited for First and Second Level
Numerical doodles are a fun way for children to gain more confidence in recognising and naming numbers. Older learners can also still have fun getting creative. Try your hand at recreating our doodles, or create your own - what can you turn each number in to? We have a Christmas version in our seasonal Family Activities section too.
Best suited for First and Second Level
If you live near Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow, turn your daily walk into an adventure solving problems and finding clues with these maths trails created by Anderston Primary School.
You can find some more trails near the school, plus an escape room to do at home or in the classroom, on the Anderston Primary School website.
Funding for the trails were from the Maths Week Scotland Small Grants Fund. Content for the day developed by school staff with support from the Parent Council.
Best suited for First and Second Level
If you live near Anderston Primary School in Glasgow, turn your daily walk into an adventure solving problems and finding clues with treasure trails created by Anderston Primary School. Find out how via the Anderston Primary School Website below. There are three different trails, for different ages, plus instructions on how to create your own. You will need to download the free Actionbound smart phone app.
(Please note that the option to win prizes is no longer active!)
Funding for the trails were from the Maths Week Scotland Small Grants Fund. Content for the day developed by school staff with support from the Parent Council.
Best Suited for First, Second and Third Level
Join Numberella, Ronnie Resist, Miss A Go and The Thief in an exciting interactive adventure that will take you deep into the jungle of the lost world of Meravilium. Use your maths skills to help the adventurers outwit the mysterious talking creatures who guard the great pyramid… and help them discover the secrets that lie inside!
There are two difficulty levels to choose from, one for the 7-10 age group and one for the 11-14 age group.
Best Suited for First, Second and Third Level
The year is 2099. Numberella, Ronnie Resist and The Thief are in downtown Probabilium. Suddenly a space ship pulls up and emits a cloud of nerve gas. They fall to the ground, motionless. Hooded figures jump out and bundle them inside… Numberella, Ronnie and The Thief have been kidnapped by The Meltz! Your mission is to help the three friends escape the space ship and return safely to Earth. Buckle up, get your maths brains in gear and let’s go!
There are two difficulty levels to choose from, one for the 7-10 age group and one for the 11-14 age group.
Best suited for First, Second and Third Level
Try your hand at coding and bring a character to life with code in Scratch! Follow along with Claire Quigley from Glasgow Life to try the example below of a “Counting Sheep” to see how it’s done, or watch our video at scienceceilidh.com/codedance and then share your animation!
Content created by Science Ceilidh
Best suited for First, Second and Third Level
Four friends went to the beach together. Can you work out what activity each of them did at the beach, what flavour of ice cream they ate, and how they got to the beach? There are two levels of difficulty to choose from.
Best suited for First, Second and Third/Fourth Level
Five exhibits at National Museum of Scotland have been written in code! Can you use your code breaking skills to find out what they are? Or use the resources to create some challenges of your own.
Note: you don't need to be at the museum to solve the challenges.
Created by Open University Faculty of STEM
Best suited for First, Second and Third/Fourth Level
How can we use music and dance to explore mathematical concepts? We teamed up with Science Ceilidh to find out.
Get your dancing shoes on and explore symmetry and data collection through ceilidh dance. These activities can be done with a whole class, small groups or objects on a tabletop.
Lewis and Caity from Science Ceilidh show us how it is done.
Best suited for First, Second and Third/Fourth Level
Staff across National Museums Scotland share how important maths is in their work as part of Maths Week Scotlands #ShowYourWorking campaign. Check out them out on Twitter
Why not have a go at some of the activities! Let us know how you get on @NMSEngage and @MathsWeekScot on Twitter.
Best suited for Second and Third Level
Use your logic, numeracy skills and your wits to escape Lochdonia Manor.
Work your way through the rooms, find the codes and defeat the guard!
Created by the Scottish Mathematical Council
Best suited for Second and Third/Fourth Level
This series of five videos focuses on the mathematics in Art and Music. Topics covered include rhythm, pentatonic scales, tiling and tessellation, and the works of Piet Mondrian.
Each video is accompanied by a brief description, any web-links referred to in the video and a list of key vocabulary to support planning and preparation.
Created by the Scottish Mathematical Council for Maths Week Scotland 2022
Best suited for Second and Third/Fourth Level
Maths Week Scotland interviewed women for whom maths is at the core of their job. Whether it is statistics, bridges or budgets these women rely on maths every single day.
Kids (and adults!) often struggle to identify why maths is useful unless they want to be a maths teacher or banker. Watch these videos together and talk about how maths is important in a huge range of jobs - whatever your interest!