Math Carnivals
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A Special Thank You to Sponsors
Math, Games, and a Little Pirate Magic!
On August 15, 2026, the mEducation Alliance delivered the second edition of our Math Carnivals in partnership with the Rotary Club of Washington Global (RCWG), Arlington Public Library, and TinkerQuest!
The two-hour event welcomed around 75 K–5 learners and their parents to the Central Library auditorium, where participants explored 12 interactive carnival stations designed to make mathematics and STEM learning playful, social, and engaging.
The stations featured:
- Life-size games that got young mathematicians moving and thinking
- Coding challenges for curious young minds
- Puzzles and problem-solving activities that made math feel like play
- Pirate’s Puzzle, where participants cracked codes, weighed pirate gold, and used graphing skills to unlock a treasure chest
- Stained Glass Geometry, using colorful tangrams and lightboards to create geometric masterpieces
- Buzzy Bee Bots, where participants programmed robot bees through mazes and explored spatial reasoning
- Prizes for every math adventurer!
RCWG members and local high school students brought each station to life, providing instructions, encouragement, and guidance as children explored the activities. The afternoon even included a surprise juggling demonstration from one of the volunteers.
What Is a Math Carnival?
A Math Carnival transforms mathematics into play.
Designed primarily for K–5 learners and their families, Math Carnivals bring together a collection of interactive games, puzzles, challenges, and STEM activities in a welcoming, informal setting. Rather than following a traditional lesson format, children move between stations, experiment with different ideas, solve problems, and discover that mathematics can be creative and enjoyable.
A typical Math Carnival features 10–12 hands-on stations and can welcome 75 or more participants. Local educators, high school students, university students, and community volunteers can serve as station facilitators, helping participants understand the activities and encouraging them to explore different ways of solving a problem.
Math Carnivals can be adapted to different communities, spaces, budgets, and age groups. Many activities require only simple, locally available materials, while others use commercial games or specialized kits.
Host Your Own Math Carnival
Start with the Basics
You can bring the Math Carnival experience to your own school, library, community center, or other learning space.
Choose a venue
Select an open, accessible space with enough room for activity tables, floor-based games, and movement between stations.
Plan your stations
Aim for approximately 10–12 distinct activities to give participants plenty of choice and keep the experience flowing.
Recruit facilitators
High school students, educators, university students, club members, and community volunteers can help lead stations and guide participants through the activities.
Gather materials
Build a mix of low-resource activities using locally available materials and purchased games or kits where appropriate.
Make participation rewarding
Small prizes, tokens, or other completion rewards can add excitement and celebrate every young math adventurer.
Reflect and improve
After the event, gather feedback from participants and volunteers and document which activities generated the most engagement. Use these insights to strengthen your next Carnival.
Math Carnival Resource Library
Explore practical resources to help you plan and facilitate a Math Carnival.
Activity & Setup Guide
A complete activity list with information on grade levels, materials, setup requirements, and facilitation.
Low-Resource Activities
Activities that can be organized using inexpensive, locally available, or easily fabricated materials, including: Tower of Hanoi, Math Walk, Estimation Jar, Criss Cross, and Logic Puzzles among others.
Games & Activity Kits
Activities that use specific commercial games or structured kits, including: Möbi, SET, Pick Your Pony, Geometiles and Jumping Julia Maze Mats among others.
Math Games Catalog
A broader collection of math games and open-source resources that can support playful mathematics learning in and out of school.
Access the complete spreadsheet containing activity breakdowns, grade levels, required materials, and setup instructions here.
Become a Sponsor of future Math Carnivals
While Math Carnival events are free for attendees, we welcome all forms of sponsorship—financial or in-kind—to help support future events and other mEducation Alliance Math Power! activities. In addition to our next event scheduled for August 15th at Arlington Central Library and on October 10th as part of our Marvelous Education Alliance Symposium, we hope to bring similar experiences to individual schools, other locations across the DMV area, and with our global partners in low-resource developing country settings.
Examples of sponsorship support include:
Helping underwrite venue and event costs (e.g., space, decorations, refreshments)
Donating math games, books, or materials as participant prizes (See our Amazon Wish List)
Gift cards from local vendors
Supporting training and resource banks of math games for individual schools, and
Supporting other aspects of our Math Power! work including our global Math Power! prize celebrating the work of non-profits bringing the joy of math to their communities
To discuss potential sponsorship, please email medalliance@meducationalliance.org with the subject heading “Math Carnival Sponsor – [Your Organization]“.
About the mEducation Alliance
The mEducation Alliance (mEA) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in Arlington County. For over 16 years, mEA has supported innovative global education initiatives, including hosting global and regional Symposia. Our three most recent global symposia wereheld at George Mason University’s Mason Square campus as will our 2026 Marvelous Education Alliance Symposium planned for October 7-8 2026 at the same location.
Since 2020, mEA has also advanced mathematics learning through its Math Power! Initiative, which promotes low-cost, hands-on math and STEM activities. These efforts have included a global math prize, co-producing a math games catalogue with Julia Robinson Math Festival, and community events across the DMV, such as a program supporting Afghan Refugees.
Join us for future Math Carnivals!
The mEducation Alliance is hosting additional Math Carnival events throughout the year, and as part of Marvelous Education Alliance Symposium in early October.
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