Outreach and Public Engagement
At the University of Glasgow, we are committed to delivering a range of outreach and public engagement activities to showcase the subjects of mathematics and statistics. We have a team of dedicated staff and students whose aim is to share their love of mathematics and statistics to the public, and to promote, enhance and enrich mathematics and statistics in schools.
On this website you can find out more about the range of activities we offer to the public and to local schools. Below you can find a list of our upcoming and recent events.
Upcoming and recent events
Thursday 6th June to Sunday 16th June: Glasgow Science Festival 2024
Members of the School of Mathematics & Statistics will be delivering a range of in-person events in venues across the city for Glasgow Science Festival 2024. Details of these activities are provided below and more information can be found on the GSF webpage.
APERIODIC TILES AND THE EINSTEIN PROBLEM. Thursday 6th June – Tuesday 11th June, Riverside Museum.
Are you good at puzzles? Think you’ve got what it takes to find an aperiodic monotile? Join researchers from the School of Maths and Statistics at the University of Glasgow to build patterns with tiles. Sounds simple? It’s harder that it looks. How big can you build it?
GO WILD FOR STATS: STATISTICS FOR SAVING SPECIES. Friday 7th June, Glasgow Botanic Gardens.
Can you save endangered species? Don't know where to start? Maybe statistics is the answer! Researchers from the School of Maths and Statistics at the University of Glasgow will help you discover how you can estimate the numbers left in the wild and even how to use technology to help save them from poachers.
CELEBRATING LORD KELVIN’S 200TH BIRTHDAY: THE KELVIN BUBBLE. Saturday 8th June – Saturday 15th June, University of Glasgow, Advanced Research Centre (ARC).
Ever wondered why bees build honeycombs with identical 2D hexagons? William Thompson (a.k.a. Lord Kelvin) of the University of Glasgow University did. He identified the tetrakaidekahedron, a solid figure with 14 faces and its bubble equivalent, the Kelvin Cell. A 3D space-filling building block! Celebrate the 200th birthday of the University of Glasgow’s greatest scientist through a mathematical, scientific, and artistic exploration of Kelvin’s foam model of the luminiferous aether, which was then believed to permeate the entire Universe! A collaboration between the University of Glasgow’s School of Mathematics & Statistics (led by Dr Stephen J. Watson), the School of Physics and Astronomy, and artist Dr Gregor Harvie. For more information, please visit the GSF webpage.
TRANSFORMING MATHEMATICS & CHEMISTRY INTO KINTTED ART ACCORDING TO ALEXANDER CRUM BROWN. Thursday 13th June, University of Glasgow, Advanced Research Centre (ARC).
Come and join us for a knit-along evening creating models inspired by eminent chemist and mathematician, Alexander Crum Brown. During the evening, we would like knitters to contribute towards a group knitting project – the creation of a rock salt (sodium chloride) unit cell – inspired by Alexander Crum Brown to be later displayed at the University of Glasgow. If time permits, knitters will be able to explore other mathematics-chemistry Crum Brown inspired knitting. Yarn and patterns will be provided but please bring needles - size 4mm. Spaces are limited for this event; booking is essential. For more information, please visit the GSF webpage.
WHAT MAKES SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL? Friday 14th June – Saturday 15th June, Glasgow Botanic Gardens.
Why do we find some faces attractive? Why do we decorate our houses in certain ways? Why are the same designs found in nature? Explore these questions by playing with shapes and patterns, and making your own. Guided by researchers from the School of Mathematics and Statistics of the University of Glasgow, you will have the chance to craft your own symmetric patterns, mimicking those of butterflies. Learn how to spot them in wallpaper designs and then seek them out in the Botanic Gardens.
Available upon request throughout 2023-24: Royal Statistical Society William Guy Lecture (talk aimed at secondary schools)
The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) William Guy Lecturers and prestigious volunteer roles intended to celebrate the importance on engaging with schools and inspiring children about statistics from an early age. In 2023-24, Craig Anderson (senior lecturer in statistics) at the University of Glasgow, Scotland was appointed as the William Guy Lecturer for secondary school. Craig is available to deliver his ~25 minute talk on the topic of Using statistics to monitor air pollution to secondary schools across Scotland.
For more information, please visit the RSS webpage or contact Craig to request a live talk or to ask any questions.