Valerie Nirala, ASA Communications Strategist

Mathematics Awareness Month began in 1986 as Mathematics Awareness Week with a proclamation by President Ronald Reagan. Beginning in 2017, Mathematics Awareness Month became Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month to recognize the unique and important contributions from the statistics discipline. The goal is to increase public understanding of and appreciation for mathematics and statistics.

To celebrate MSAM, the American Statistical Association created a poster and related infographic for teachers to use in their classrooms. They focus on our theme this year, Looking to the Past to Predict the Future, and how statistics and math are used in the science of prediction. ASA members with expertise in climate science, sports analytics, finance, and epidemiology share public data sets, data visualization tools, and key factors to consider when making predictions in their areas.

The ASA will also host its Virtual Science Fair for K–12 students. Participants will work independently or as part of a team, spend the month investigating an interesting topic, and submit a short video highlighting their process and results.

Finally, ASA members Sarah Pagni, Shruti Jain, and Matthew Finkelman put together a contest called Predict 5 in which contestants predict answers to five questions on different topics and events taking place in April. Although the time to make predictions is over, you can still follow along. We will announce the winners in early May.

We encourage members of our community to organize their own activities for MSAM. Events could include workshops, competitions, exhibits, lectures, or something even more creative like making a meme or Zoom background. We have gathered resources and ideas for publicizing the event. You can also check out posters from previous years and read about the history of MSAM.

Share your MSAM activities on social media using #MathStatMonth. And keep an eye out for the winners of our Predict 5 contest!