F.L. Griffin MathFest

Spring Workshop for High School Students

Since 1987, the Reed College mathematics and statistics department has sponsored a Saturday workshop in the spring for area high school students and teachers interested in mathematics enrichment. The workshop gives students and teachers a hands-on opportunity to work on interesting problems in a mathematical topic complementary to the high school curriculum. Recent topics have included "Infinity: Checking in at Hilbert's Infinite Hotel," "Probability: Chances Are," "Parentheses, Paths, and Partitions: Catalan Combinatorics," "Tangles, Braids, Knots, and Numbers," "Divisors and Sandpiles," "Regular Polytopes in Three and More Dimensions," "Turing Machines," and "Trigonometry by Example." See examples of past MathFest programs here.

There is no cost to participants. 
Registration is open to high school students, plus teachers.

April 19, 2025 Program

 

Calculus Curiosities

Odd integrals, weird derivatives and strange limits.  Three-dimensional objects that can be filled with a finite volume of paint, but never painted.  We'll explore these and other curiosities from calculus including infinite sums that can be rearranged to sum to any number.

Faculty Presenters

David Meyer, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics, and participating faculty

Registrants will also have the opportunity to meet Reed math majors and ask questions about their experience studying math in college!

Prerequisites

  • High school student
  • Enthusiasm for mathematics 
  • Pre-registration required
  • Deadline to register: April 1, 2025

Registration

Registration for the 2025 MathFest is now open.

Register here!

MathFest is open to high school students and their teachers.