Claremont Center for the Mathematical Sciences

The Gateway to Exploring Mathematical Sciences program (GEMS) is a once monthly, Saturday morning workshop that was founded at the Claremont Colleges in the Fall 2008. It was so popular, we are presenting it again for the Fall 2011. GEMS is designed to reach seventh, eighth and ninth grade students who may have an interest in mathematics or science. The workshops present mathematics and science applications in an exciting way that catches these young students’ interest early. Included in the 2011-2012 GEMS program are the Pomona, Claremont, San Bernadino, Upland and Long Beach Unified School Districts as well as selected private schools upon request. The students are selected by principals or teachers with the sole prerequisite that the young student shows enough interest to get up on a Saturday morning and come to the workshops. Professors, undergraduates and graduate students from each of the six colleges in the Claremont Consortium will take part in one way or another in the GEMS program, thus offering the incoming students, their parents, teachers, principals and counselors a chance to meet and work with the large variety of excellent and award winning faculty, staff and alumni at the Claremont Colleges. The goal is to allow each young student to become increasingly aware that mathematics and science experiences are fun and process-oriented rather than answer-oriented. The GEMS program will help excite the curiosity of these young students and show that higher education can be very exciting and satisfying.

The 2011-2012 Dates are listed here, with the topics to be determined.

November 12, 2011

December 10, 2011

January 21, 2012

February 11, 2012

March 10, 2012

April 14, 2012

May 5, 2012

The Saturday morning workshops begin at 10:00 and go through to 12:00 noon. They typically begins with a forty-five minute presentation by a professor, followed by a forty-five minute breakout session of small groups conducting their own hands-on personal exploration. Each breakout group consists of approximately six to eight students and is assisted by the colleges' undergraduate and graduate students. The breakout sessions are followed by group presentations, posters and explanations underscored with lively participation. Transportation for the young students is provided by the respective school districts (bus, van, carpooling by parents, teachers, etc) and the site for the 2011 GEMS program is The Founders Room, upstairs in McConnell Center on the Pitzer College campus. The address is 601 East 9th Street, Claremont, CA  91711. Registration is open and free of charge to all students in the seventh, eighth and ninth grades. Because each session is independent from the other sessions, a student may choose to participate in one workshop, or all of the workshops. However once a student has experienced one session, it is unlikely he or she will want to miss a single one.

The GEMS program is co-sponsored by the Claremont Graduate University, School of Educational Studies Lisa Loop, Director of Advancement and Administration; the Claremont Center for Mathematical Sciences and Mathematical Association of America (Tensor-SUMMA Grants Program). We are an MSRI Math Circle. For more information, please contact Dave Bachman, Faculty Director, GEMS Program or Claremont Center for Mathematical Sciences at 909-607-8012. The following link will bring you to a short documentary film with some of the principals and students: http://www.cgu.edu/gems.