A marshmallow launched by a length of knicker elastic flies through the air to the obvious satisfaction of the ten year old child who has launched it. Somewhat to their surprise this is closely followed by a flying pig. The pig lands on top of an orange maze on which magnetic animals are being moved around by a team of youngsters armed with long sticks and all being timed by a stop-watch. Nearby a small volcano (powered by vinegar and bicarbonate of soda) explodes. No this isn’t Disneyland. What you have just taken part in are three of the projects which have been devised by mathematics undergraduate students at the University of Bath as ways of making mathematical and scientific ideas more accessible to the general public. Other activities have included dressing up in fancy dress in order to tell sixth formers about complex numbers and doing a (mathematical) magic show for the University of the Third Age.
