Essex County Council is adding a touch of festive magic to maths this Christmas through a range of fun, free and educational activities.
All activities are funded by the Essex Year of Numbers, a £1.5 million initiative that aims to enhance numeracy skills and inspire a lifelong passion for learning among children and young people in Essex.
Highlights include an advent competition, which is running from 1st December to 24th December 2024. The competition will pose daily maths questions for children aged 7 to 15-years-old through a festive advent calendar hosted on the ‘Essex Year of…’ app, which is free to download and available on both android and iOS devices. By opening a new door each day, users need to crack the maths puzzle and submit the correct answer to be in with a chance of winning a daily maths related prize.
Elsewhere, Animal Mysteries Festive Trails are taking place in seven county parks across Essex, including Belhus Woods, Cudmore Grove, Danbury, Great Notley, Hadleigh, Thorndon and Weald Country Parks. Commencing on 30th November 2024, and running until 5th January 2025, children can embark on a festive themed trail to solve puzzles and count the animals hiding in the park to uncover the ‘magic number’ to win an Explore Essex Explorer pass (worth £85).
Councillor Tony Ball, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability said: “This festive season, we wanted to create a range of exciting and accessible activities for some of our youngest local residents, to spark a love of numbers and show just how rewarding problem-solving can be.
“We want to encourage the whole family to get involved in our festive themed maths events so they can develop vital numerical skills in a relaxed and fun environment in the run up to Christmas.”
For more information on the advent competition and terms and conditions, visit https://www.essex.gov.uk/news/essex-year-of-numbers.
For more information on Essex County Council’s Animal Mysteries Festive Trails, visit https://www.explore-essex.com/blog/festive-trail .
