Who we are

Mathematics Connects Us Association is a group of young people who feel passionate about Mathematics Education. We want to turn maths into a social experience by organising maths treasure hunts, summer schools and other activities. We create an atmosphere at our events where maths is cool and fun for everyone, where we encourage thinking outside of the box and advocate for healthy and active lifestyle. In 2017, we reached more than ten thousand pupils and students in Hungary and the figure is rapidly growing every year.

slider image

Our mission

Make maths a social experience

We know that maths is fun and want to show it to everyone. We believe that with creative puzzles and exciting challenges we can bring people together and share our passion. Our activities impact even those who struggle with maths and whose main interest lies elsewhere.

Healthy lifestyle

Physical activity and exercise are essential to one’s well-being. We use our events and the modern technology to promote healthy and active lifestyle.

Thinking outside of the box

Creative problem solving is essential in the modern world. Mathematics provides an excellent platform to develop critical thinking and improve problem solving skills. We encourage our students to think outside of the box in all situations.

Building community

Our events are excellent platforms for students to meet like-minded people. These friendships and networks are long-lasting and impactful.

Inspiring teachers

Teachers nurture our future, they are one of the pillars of society. By creating opportunities to our volunteers to experience the role of a teacher we wish to encourage them to consider a career in education.

Our activities

Our activities include outdoor maths challenges, maths camps, experience days and treasure hunts. They all run under the MEDVE brand, which means ‘bear’ in Hungarian. MEDVE refers to/comes from the outdoor venues and the playful atmosphere.

MEDVE Outdoor Maths Challenge

Everything is more fun when you do it with your friends. Maths is the same. And this is what makes the MEDVE Outdoor Maths Challenge great. We take over a park, set up stations and the kids with their friends go from station to station, where they get fun maths puzzles. The way they go depends on their answers. The teams try to find their way through the maze of maths problems while spending a fun day with their friends outside.

MEDVE Summer Camps and Maths Weekends

For those who can’t have enough of maths fun at the MEDVE outdoor maths challenges, the MEDVE Summer camps and maths weekends might quench their thirst for more. In the 7-10 days of a MEDVE Summer Camp, we create our own world with our own time zone and currency. We give laidback maths classes, organise games, go for hikes and most importantly, have a lot of fun together. They are the perfect place to convey our values to the students.

Experience days

We provide several opportunities for teachers and parents to get acquainted with our mission. Among them, we organise experience days where students, teachers and parents can meet and share their ideas, while getting involved in our activities

Smart Trails

We are developing an application that makes it possible to introduce ‘self-service’ outdoors challenges in several fields of education. The so-called smart trails can even be set up in school yards, city parks or at universities. We are going far beyond Pokemon Go! :)

History

Our story goes all the way back to 1999, when Gábor Kis, an excellent teacher at the Fazekas Mihály Grammar School in Debrecen, Hungary, organised the first outdoor maths challenge and maths summer camp for his students. These camps and games had such an impact on his students that many of them started working with him on organising these events after they graduated. In 2012 a group of his students took over the baton and the initiative took new momentum. A year later they founded the Mathematics Connects Us Association to be able to work more effectively. Our activity has been growing ever since the beginning. In 2017 we have organised 8 Outdoor Maths Challenges and 6 Maths camps reaching over 10 000 people; and also celebrated our 100th event.

The team

We have more than 80 active members who mainly study or work in mathematics related areas. They create an inspiring atmosphere for the youngsters with their diverse background, personalities and experiences. Their unassuming voluntary work makes it possible to impact so many students every year.

Cooperation

The problems we are tackling are not unique to Hungary. We know that it is a great challenge in all countries to connect with teenagers, motivate and engage them with activities. We are always looking for international cooperations with other organisations in education development. We are always keen to hear your ideas and experiences and share ours. If you want to know more about our work or how to set up your own smart trail, just drop us an email!