It’s April! It’s time to celebrate the warmer weather— and statistics!

Every April, the ASA and other institutions throughout the US celebrate Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month.

To kick off the month, download our poster celebrating the many ways statisticians and data scientists contribute to solving real-world problems. If you work with students, hang the poster up in your classroom or office to introduce them to the wide range of ways statistics affects the world every day.

Doctoral students Alex Cloud, second from right, and Longshaokan Wang, third from right, work with undergraduate students on data analytics for the online game League of Legends as part of a Laber Labs project. Photo by Lisa Wong.

Drexel University doctoral student Ruby Bayliss (left) and associate professor Loni Tabb are biostatisticians. Photo by Emily Gallagher/Drexel University.

Alison Wu builds computer vision models for Laber Labs’ robot, Nona. Photo by Eric Laber.

In addition to our poster, we’re also running a virtual science fair. K–12 students are invited to investigate a question they’re interested in by collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data and then recording a 3- to 5-minute video and writing a short essay describing their results. Registration and submissions continue through April 30.

We have four more chances for students to learn about applications of statistics and data science this month. Beginning April 8, a different expert will explain how they use statistics to solve problems via a prerecorded screencast each week. After the presentation, students will be able to send in questions for the presenter. Here’s our lineup for the month:

• Understanding athletes’ performances (Stephanie Kovalchik, research fellow, Institute of Sport, Exercise, and Active Living, Victoria University) – Monday, April 8, 12:00 p.m.
• Machine learning and video game AI (Eric Laber, associate professor of statistics, NC State University) – Monday, April 15, 12:00 p.m.
• Water quality and public health (Loni Tabb, associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, Drexel University) – Monday, April 22, 12:00 p.m.
• Caring for the environment (Erin Schliep, assistant professor, department of statistics, University of Missouri) – Monday, April 29, 12:00 p.m.

Have you planned any events or outreach for Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month? Let us know how your plans turn out! Email Lara Harmon about what you have done, and we may feature a look at your activities in a future issue of Amstat News.