The East Saxon Math and Computer Science Camp for girls took place in the second week of the fall holidays, from October 13 - 18, 2024, at the KiEZ "Am Braunsteich" near Weißwasser.

Who was there?

A total of 47 girls from grades 7 to 12 took part.

The schoolgirls came from many different places in Saxony: from Bautzen, Bischofswerda, Chemnitz, Dresden, Görlitz, Kamenz, Leipzig and several others. One girl even traveled from Essen for the second time. She had discovered the camp via the internet. Many of the other girls, well over half of them, had been there several times before.

What was in the program?

The mornings were organized in groups of 7 to 12 girls by student teachers, a Master's student of mathematics and staff from our Faculty and the Faculty of Computer Science on various topics that go beyond the school curriculum and promote interest in mathematics and computer science. Mathematics topics included proof and Olympiad strategies, graph theory and coloring, the magic square and triangle geometry. The computer scientists had robotics, 3D printing and introduction to graphical applications with Python up to the programming of the Game of Life in the program. The girls took part in all the circles with great curiosity and puzzle fun.

In the afternoons and evenings, there was an extensive program of workshops and leisure activities, where the girls could choose according to their interests. Everyone wanted to take part in the visit to the glass museum in Weißwasser. A trained glassmaker gave an exciting talk there and was fascinated by the large group who listened intently. Afterwards, the girls were able to explore the museum using an app. The workshops were offered on the topics: "Symmetries - designing lamps yourself and building them with plotters", "Abstraction" and "Mathematical card tricks".

On the penultimate evening, everyone got together for the Science Slam, where participants presented short talks for everyone and finally, on Thursday, the traditional field game with mathematical and computer science puzzle stations took place.

© Antje Noack

What are the prospects?

The counselors sought to talk to the girls in the 11th and 12th grades in a targeted manner in order to discuss their study aspirations. The four twelfth-graders who took part will all study in the STEM field at TU Dresden after a year of FSJ at the latest.

The next camp is already planned for the period from 12.10. to 17.10.2025 at KiEZ Weißwasser.

Further information can be found on the Faculty of Mathematics website.