Mason Math Summer Day Camp

Mason Math Odyssey Enrichment Camp

Registration is Now Open

Two Camps: July 7 - 11 and July 21 - 25 2025 (details below)

Mason Math Odyssey enrichment camp (MMO) is a place for rising 6th - 9th graders who are curious about math to learn about beautiful mathematics concepts typically not taught in K-12 curriculum. Students will engage in fun and friendly team competitions that will help build mathematical maturity while honing problem solving, collaboration, and communication skills. Camp participants will embark on an exciting mathematical journey through space and time to learn about some of the greatest mathematical discoveries from ancient times to this day, get exposed to some of the fundamental mathematical concepts from the areas of geometry, topology, number theory, probability and algebra, as well as mathematical modeling, and compete for a chance to win the camp trophy. As part of the daily agenda, students will be immersed into one of the mathematical themes through guest lectures, hands-on activities, and group projects featuring Olympiad-style problems as well as simple mathematical puzzles and culminating in a peer and instructor judged presentation.*

Contact: Jennifer Lawler jlawler@gmu.edu

Where: In-person -- Fairfax Campus

Dates: July 2025 (details below)

Time: 9am - 3pm (drop off and pickup windows TBD)

Cost: $650 includes all materials, activities, and daily lunch!

Registration Deadline: Friday, June 6, 2025 for Week 1; Friday, June 13 for Week 2

This summer we are running two camps.

July 7th-11th is for rising 6th-8th graders. It is suitable for students who are just developing an interest in math. The emphasis will be on recreative math, with hands-on activities, puzzles and games designed to spark curiosity and reasoning.

July 21st - 25th is for rising 7th-9th graders. It is more suitable for students who enjoy exploring the "why" of concepts/formulas and have a strong number sense. While also incorporating puzzles and hands-on activities, we will in addition lead the students to formalization of questions and challenge them to answer them mathematically. It will give students a taste of what mathematical research is like.

Sample Day (subject to change):

Drop-off
Welcome
Lecture by invited speaker
Problem solving / team building
Lunch
Hands-on/interactive activity
Students presentations
Historical remarks
Pick up

Example Modeling Day description from Summer 2023 MMO Camp:

Modelling. The day commences with a presentation focused on the theme: “Analyzing Data and Building a Model”. Explaining the modeling cycle, statistical analysis and methods. Students actively engage in practical exercises, refining their skills in computing the mean, median, and mode of data. Following this foundational phase, students are organized into teams and assigned specific NetLogo modeling problems, encompassing scenarios such as Wolf/Sheep Predation, viral spread, and bidding markets. We then move on to a computer lab where students learn the basics of Matlab. Finally, students prepare presentations using Matlab and Netlogo where they need to discuss the modeling problem, review its historical context, show how the data was used to fit a curve, and what the model suggests from the data.

The George Mason University Department of Mathematical Sciences is pleased to provide need-based financial assistance to attend our summer day camp. Please consider donating to the camp fund using the Register link below if you are able.

For those seeking assistance, please note that financial assistance is not guaranteed, and funds are limited. To apply, before registering, please download and complete the Financial Assistance Form (click here). Email the completed form as an attachment to JLawler@gmu.edu. Please put "MMO Camp Scholarship" in the subject line.

Q: How many kids attend the program?

A: We are limiting enrollment to 36 students

Q: How does the provided lunch work?

A: Our current plan is to have the students eat all 5 days in our Southside cafeteria. It is not open except to special events in the summer. Last year we had it to ourselves for 3 out of 5 days and one other camp was in the cafeteria at the same time as us the other 2 days.

Q:How does the math in this program differ from what is covered in middle school?

A: We are aiming at broadening kids' exposure and appreciation for mathematics topics outside of the school curriculum which naturally fuels their curiosity and motivates them to learn, which is turn naturally translates into higher achievements in tests and contests. This camp would be different from a typical Mathcounts or AMC prep class (although many of our faculty are intimately familiar with both). I would say we focus on developing research and critical thinking skills more than on polishing test taking skills.

You should expect your child to interact with faculty and graduate students engaged in active research in the areas of algebra, number theory, applied math etc, learn about history of mathematics and work with other kids on different levels of problems: from those he/she would probably easily solve to those that would require he/she to pause and then on to learning about the questions no one has solved yet. Once we know your child’s level we would be able to find the right challenge for him. This camp would give him exposure to what mathematical research is like.

Registration