Guest Post by Jeanette Shakalli, PhD, Executive Director of FUNDAPROMAT
The Panamanian Foundation for the Promotion of Mathematics (FUNDAPROMAT) is a non-profit Foundation based in the Republic of Panama whose mission is to spread the joy of mathematics. We organize virtual and in-person math outreach events, which are free and open to the general public, which means that kids and adults of all ages attend. Our purpose is to change that negative perception that so many people have towards mathematics and convince the general public that math is not only fun but it also has many interesting applications in other disciplines and in everyday life.
Thanks to the generosity of Lauren Siegel, FUNDAPROMAT has been using materials from the MathHappens Foundation in our in-person events for years now. It is worth mentioning that our in-person events not only take place in Panama City but also in the provinces of the Republic, since we want to reach as many Panamanian families as possible. Among the materials that we have been using, the turtle tiles, which a Panamanian artist painted/decorated to make them more attractive for our audience, have been a huge success! Recently our participants have greatly enjoyed exploring the richness and beauty of mathematics by playing with the bubble tiles and its frames, as well as the 21st century pattern blocks and its frames. We are very grateful that the MathHappens Foundation has supported us by sending us these fun manipulatives.
The collaboration does not end there. In March 2022 Lauren Siegel was our invited speaker at a FUNDAPROMAT Math Webinar in English, which was co-organized with the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). In this virtual event, our special guest presented on “A Visit to the MathHappens Workshop!” Moreover, at the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) 2026 in Washington, DC, FUNDAPROMAT organized a Math Outreach Session. Among our invited panelists, Lauren Siegel participated and shared the importance of doing math outreach and also her experience running this type of activities. We hope to continue collaborating with the MathHappens Foundation so that more and more students, teachers and parents from all over the world can feel excited about mathematics.
