Girls Go Big: A STEM Adventure | Mathematics

Mentorship × Hands-on Learning × Seeing the World Through Mathematics — The Final Chapter of a STEM Journey

Co-organized by Taiwan Women in Science and Technology (TWiST), the Department of Women and Children Development, Taoyuan City Government, and the Taoyuan Northern District Women’s Center, the summer program Girls Go Big: A STEM Adventure featured four STEM exploration sessions designed especially for girls.

Following the Science, Technology, and Engineering sessions, the series concluded with its final chapter: Mathematics.

Seeing the World Through Mathematics: Mentorship and New Perspectives

Held on a sunny day in August, the event explored the theme of mathematics, everyday life, and music. Young women aged 15 to 20 were invited to step beyond the traditional classroom and discover how mathematics can be understood through real-life experiences.

Through mentor talks, hands-on activities, and interdisciplinary learning, numbers were transformed from seemingly cold and abstract concepts into another language for understanding the world.

Mentor Talk | Seeing the World Through Numbers and Mathematics

The morning session began with a talk by a female mentor actively involved in education.

Using humor and real-world examples, she guided participants through topics ranging from the Egyptian pyramids and architectural proportions to the beauty of numerical sequences. By connecting mathematics with everyday life, she transformed symbols and formulas that once seemed difficult and distant into accessible ways of observing and understanding the world.

“Mathematics is everywhere. Even standing in the corner of a metro carriage involves a balance of mechanics and angles,” she explained, prompting enthusiastic questions and responses from the participants.

Through lively discussion, mathematics was no longer an unfamiliar language confined to the blackboard. Instead, it became a way of thinking that could be applied to architecture, finance, aesthetics, and many other areas.

The mentor also shared how she found her place in mathematics-related professional environments where women remain underrepresented. She encouraged the participants to speak up, embrace uncertainty, and confidently express their ideas.

Many participants volunteered to take the microphone and share examples of “mathematics in everyday life” that they had observed, including weighing produce at a traditional market, probability algorithms in mobile games, and the golden ratio in selfie composition.

Their observations demonstrated not only their attentiveness, but also a simple truth: mathematics has always been part of daily life.

Music × Mathematics × Hands-on Learning: Discovering the Rhythm of Formulas Through Panpipe Making

The afternoon session featured a hands-on panpipe-making workshop that combined history, music, and mathematics. Participants used mathematical concepts to create both a musical instrument and a practical learning tool.

The workshop began with an introduction to the relationship between traditional Chinese musical scales and mathematics. Participants learned how the ancient Chinese pitch system used mathematical ratios to construct musical scales and how formulas could make the relationships between different notes more tangible.

The participants first observed waves moving along ropes to simulate the phenomenon of standing waves. They then made panpipes from drinking straws, measuring how changes in tube length affected sound frequency and adjusting the pitch according to mathematical formulas.

The classroom filled with sounds created through the combination of musical notes, rulers, and measurements. As they played and adjusted their instruments, participants discussed questions such as:

“Why does this note sound out of tune?”

“Is the tube too short? Should we make it longer?”

Through this activity, the relationship between mathematics and music was no longer abstract. It became something the participants could measure, modify, and create with their own hands.

The panpipes produced more than melodies; they also reflected the participants’ new understanding of the mathematical world.

Challenging Stereotypes and Embracing the Future: Mathematics Is a Language for Girls

At the end of the session, participants shared their reflections:

“I used to think mathematics was difficult and cold. Today was the first time I realized it could be so interesting.”

“After hearing the mentor’s story, I also hope to pursue a mathematics-related career in the future.”

TWiST emphasized that mathematics should not be regarded as something reserved for a small number of exceptionally gifted people. It is a tool for logic and reasoning that everyone can learn and use.

For girls in particular, challenging stereotypes such as “girls are not good at mathematics” remains one of the central goals of STEM education.

Girls Go Big: A STEM Adventure | Mathematics not only introduced participants to the logic and beauty of numbers, but also helped them recognize that mathematics is a language through which they can understand the world and pursue their dreams.

It is a language they are fully capable of learning, using, and even transforming into melodies of their own.

Looking Back on the Girls Go Big STEM Adventure Series and Looking Ahead

With the conclusion of the Mathematics session, all four activities in the Girls Go Big: A STEM Adventure series were successfully completed.

From Technology to Mathematics, each session combined hands-on activities with personal sharing, introducing participants to the breadth and depth of STEM from different perspectives.

TWiST will continue working with local governments, academic institutions, and businesses to develop additional STEM outreach programs for adolescent girls.

By combining mentorship from women role models, interdisciplinary hands-on learning, and advocacy for gender equality, these programs aim to help more girls build confidence through learning, explore their interests, and gradually recognize their own place and potential in the world of science.