In November, Michigan was one of ten regional hosts for the American Printing House (APH) Abacus Bee (pictured above). Of the students who competed in Michigan, two qualified to attend the APH Abacus Bee Nationals in March!
The Abacus Bee focuses on building math skills to drive students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. This year, the national competition celebrated the mathematical number pi (3.14).
An abacus is a math tool consisting of beads that slide on rods and can be separated by bars with raised lines and dots to represent numbers through the trillions. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division can be calculated on the abacus.
On March 14, APH held an exploration day: Participants practiced putting the first 100 digits of pi in order, played pi games, explored new tactile cubes for solving math problems, enjoyed pi puns, and learned mathematical tricks for solving challenging problems. They also had opportunities to get to know peers and explore Louisville, Kentucky, with their parents.
On March 15, participants put on their game faces to take on the competition. Participants were divided into their respective groups, including Starters, Movers, Riders, Flyers, and Blasters. Each group competed in several 20-minute sessions, each named after a space mission. Participants used mental math or an abacus to solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems based on their mathematical level. At the end of the day, participants competed in a final “Space Race” round that would challenge even the most skilled mathematician.
Students and their families wrapped up the competition with an awards ceremony. Both Michigan students placed in the top three of the competition for their levels, and one was invited to be the APH flag bearer for the start of the ceremonies. Each of the 30 participants independently walked down a red carpet as the audience cheered, followed by a keynote address by a Harvard University biomedical student who is blind.
We are so proud of our students’ hard work and dedication to practicing for this competition. If you missed the first one, don’t worry; we will host another regional Abacus Bee competition in November. Test your skills and join in the fun!