In the fall of 2014, a series of live demonstrations and field-based activities were lead by a team of educators and top action sports athletes who performed at local high schools. These events, entitled the “Skatepark Mathematics Extravaganza”, were done in order to engage high school students in focused explorations of mathematics set in a real world setting that is relevant to youth culture, namely skateboarding and bicycle motocross (BMX).

 

These activities incorporated mathematics for the students to do after the demonstration in meetings with classes in which the Action Science Stunt Team performed maneuvers on ramps at the high school and from which students collected real world data.  These demonstrations and subsequent field-based activities allowed the students to explore practical applications of mathematics principles in geometry and algebra in the context of BMX and skateboarding. Approximately 4000 students in the tenth grade participated in the six on-campus events.