What is it?

Gauss-Klub is a new, fun after-school AG that will be starting in fall 2011 at the Nelson Mandela School in Berlin. It aims to appeal both to kids who like math, as well as those who do not. With a maximum enrollment of twelve students per year, Gauss-Klub will have a strong individually-tailored component for each member, as well as regular group activities. The club will be free of charge, and will attempt to be age and gender balanced.

Why “Gauss”?

Carl-Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855) was a German mathematician (and scientist) who made important, fundamental contributions to numerous fields. A story about the young Gauss, possibly apocryphal, describes how at seven years old he astonished a teacher by quickly solving a problem that the instructor had anticipated would require an hour of hard work. The appeal of the story is the way it depicts overcoming the perceived tedium or difficulty of math with a flash of insight—a sudden glimpse of a simple pattern that makes something arduous tractable.