Summer Illinois Math (SIM) Camp is a free, week-long math day camp for middle and high school students hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Mathematics. Campers will see the creative, discovery driven side of mathematics. By showing them some of the ways mathematicians approach problems, SIM Camp hopes to encourage them to continue studying math beyond the high school level.
We will offer three camps in 2018. As in the past, SIM Camp Epsilon is for students entering 8th or 9th grade in Fall 2018. SIM Camp Delta is now for students entering 9th or 10th grade. We are also introducing SIM Camp Omega for students entering 10th through 12th grade.
Topics for Camp Delta
Topics will be Counting to Infinity (Plus One!) and Maximize Your Winnings: Using Math to Understand Games.
Counting to Infinity (Plus One!)
Is infinity a number greater than all other numbers, or is it the size of a set that is larger than all finite sets? Are these two notions the same, and how do we make them mathematically rigorous? In this course students learn how to show that different infinite sets have different sizes; indeed, some infinities are bigger than others! Along the way we develop the basic elements of set theory and grapple with notions of orderings on infinite sets and maps between sets.
Maximize Your Winnings: Using Math to Understand Games
Which games have a winning strategy? We will play and explore a variety of games involving chance, strategy, social cooperation and anticipating the actions of others. We will use mathematical approaches to help us understand and play games better.
Application Details
- SIM Camp Delta is for rising 9th or 10th grade students who have taken taken at least one year of algebra.
- Priority will be given to students who apply by April 15, but we will continue accepting applications until all camps are full.
- Visit the SIM Summer Camp website to apply.
