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Shipping industry demonstrates that 'Math Counts'

Published:Sunday | March 15, 2015 | 12:00 AM
Contributed
Kirk Reid (right), athematics teacher at The Queen’s School accepts this 3D puzzle from Yahneake Sterling, public relations officer for the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) and Denzil Archer, shift monitor at the SAJ. Reid won the prize for being the first person to solve what proved to be a difficult trigonometry question during the National Mathematics Expo held at the University of the West Indies on March 12. The prize was donated by CaribStar Shipping Limited .

Many wide-eyed students gazed curiously at the displays mounted by the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) and the Caribbean Maritime Institute during last week's National Mathematics Expo hosted by the Ministry of Education.

Held at the University of the West Indies, Mona, on March 12, the students, representing various primary, secondary, and tertiary schools across the island, were in awe of the equipment used during daily activities in the shipping industry. Among the items on display were models of cranes, reach stackers, trucks, shipping containers, ships, and navigation equipment.

Guided by the theme 'Math Counts', the industry partners challenged students to solve mathematics questions ranging from basic math to trigonometry. Eager students were happy to solve the questions on the promise of prizes for those who produced the correct answers.

Members of the SAJ who helped to make the display interactive were Kingston Wharves Limited, Transocean Shipping, CaribStar Shipping, Seaboard Jamaica, and the Caribbean Maritime Institute.