Math Competition for Kids in 3rd-6th Grade to be Held at Mathnasium of Lexingt

Mathnasium will host its first annual National TriMathlon Day on Saturday, May 14, 2011 at more than 200 participating centers across the United States (www.mathnasium.com/TriMathlon).  Mathnasium of Lexington will host the math competition at its learning center located at 100-A Old Cherokee Road in Lexington.  Registration for Mathnasium’s TriMathlon is free and open to all students in third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades attending public, private, or home school.  The event is intended to create excitement among area students and schools.

The TriMathlon consists of three challenges:  The Counting Game (tests student’s ability to count from any number, to any number, by any number), Magic Squares (students are awarded points for creativity in developing their own math problems), and Mental Math Workout (evaluates student’s Number Sense by asking them to solve given problems the ‘smart’ way without pencil and paper). Questions become progressively more difficult for students in higher grade levels.

Students will first compete locally at Mathnasium of Lexington.  Along with medals for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, each participant will receive a certificate of achievement for their involvement.  
National TriMathlon winners will be selected from the top three scorers in each grade level from all participating Mathnasium locations.  The 12 national winners will receive honors and more than $10,000 in cash prizes.

“Mathnasium’s National TriMathlon Day is an ideal opportunity for us to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of math students in these grade levels,” says Derek M. Brown, Owner, Mathnasium of Lexington.  “Each challenge tests a different facet of students’ analytical and computational abilities. We hope this event will generate excitement about math education among our area’s students and schools.”

The ultimate goal of Mathnasium is to help kids become “mathematically powerful,” to “build a strong foundation so no matter what program they’re doing in school, they can handle it and do the underlying math,” according to Mathnasium Chief Instructional Officer and founder, Larry Martinek.