= MATH FAIR REGISTRATION DEADLINE =

April 25, 2025

First, a message from the Math Fair Director, Kendra Christiana:

On behalf of the Vermont Council of Teachers of Mathematics (VCTM), I would like to cordially invite you to submit a project and join us as part of the next generation of critical thinkers and problem solvers at the 2025 Statewide Math Fair. Our goal is to allow students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of math in a collaborative, non-traditional way.

You may familiarize yourself with the overall process, project criteria and scoring rubrics here. Should anything change, this page will be updated and all registrants will be notified.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions! vctmtreasurer@gmail.com

You can click on the linked items below OR scroll down to the appropriate section:

1. GET REGISTERED! 📋

2. CREATE & INVESTIGATE... 🕵

3. COME TO THE FAIR! ✅

4. FAQs 🙋

1. GET REGISTERED! 📋 

First, all students interested in participating must register by the April 25th deadline under one of the grade band categories (K-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-12) as an INDIVIDUAL or CLASS project.

• Visit our website (vtmath.org) to fill out the registration form.  Fill out one form for each project, but please include all participant names.  
• While all K-12 VT students are eligible to participate, please be sure to abide by our project entry criteria as you organize and prepare to register.

2. CREATE & INVESTIGATE... 🕵

...your mathematical topic or question! This can be applied, pure, or even paradoxical in nature! Consider a famous problem or pose one of your own. Perhaps you want to know what it means mathematically for a video to go viral online. It could be that the Sierpinski Triangle and the world of fractals has you wondering. Maybe you want to design a physical model or computer program to accomplish a task or solve a real-world problem. What do you notice and wonder about our world? How can you measure it? How can you model it? Why do we want to learn about it?

• While exploring our world quantitatively, please follow our project creation & submission criteria. This will give you guidance on how to document your great work as well as what form(s) it can take!
• You should also consult our scoring rubrics: Primary (Grades K-2/3-4/5-6) Rubric & Secondary (Grades 7-8/9-12) Rubric.
• Questions? Having trouble getting started? Explore a list of possible topics here! Or consult our FAQs at the bottom of this flier. By mid-September, we hope to have an informational video for available participants (including lesson ideas for teachers/project advisors).

3. COME TO THE FAIR! ✅

The 2025 Statewide Math Fair begins at 8:00 am on May 3, 2025 at UVM Votey Hall.  Bring your project and be ready to present your findings for our volunteer judges. It is a great opportunity to get feedback from local professionals who love mathematics. Presentations will be on the 2nd floor of Votey Hall. The fair will end with an awards ceremony to recognize students from each grade category. See you at the Fair!

4. FAQs 🙋 

Below is a list of frequently-asked and anticipated questions:

• Is there a cost to participate? No! It is 100% FREE to participate, for the first time in the history of the math fair. VCTM thanks our generous event sponsors at Ben & Jerry’s & Costco. Whether homeschooled or enrolled in public or private K-12, we want YOU to submit a project!
• How do I get started? Note that students are NOT required to submit anything about their project at the time of registration, but it is highly encouraged that they have either already started working on their project or have chosen a mathematical topic or essential question for their investigation. When available, please check out our informational video for participants & project advisors.
• What if I missed the deadline? What if I can no longer participate? Student substitutions and late registrations will be accepted only as both our ability to display and score more projects allows. Check out our project entry criteria for more info.
• I need to change something in my registration. What should I do? Please contact the math fair director, Kendra Christiana, by email at vctmtreasurer@gmail.com.
• What if I/my student(s) cannot attend the fair at UVM?

In order to participate in the competition portion of the math fair, students need to attend because the presentation is a vital component of the scoring.

• How are students scored & placed? In each grade band category, we will award a first-second-third place finish as well as an honorable mention. A team of judges (at least two) will score each project according to our scoring rubrics: Primary (Grades K-2/3-4/5-6) Rubric & Secondary (Grades 7-8/9-12) Rubric. VCTM will make every effort this year to deliver on the promise of physical medals for our winning projects.
• When did the math fair start? Why? Kate McCann, a Vermont High School Math Teacher, former co-president of VCTM, 2017 Vermont Teacher of the Year, and a big proponent for getting a human on Mars, started this event in 2017. Her primary goal was to generate excitement and community around math by providing a low-stakes competition while offering an authentic opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning in a non-traditional way. With generous support from local sponsors, VCTM has been able to continue offering this event.
• What is the Vermont Council of Teachers of Mathematics (VCTM)? VCTM is a professional organization of K-12+post-secondary math educators from around the state who volunteer their time to achieve the following mission: Building a math educators community, by facilitating conversation and sharing resources around best practices to engage student learning throughout the state of Vermont while strengthening connections with state and national organizations. Please visit our website vtmath.org to learn more!