Everyone has a math story to tell!
Math Storytelling Day is all about sharing all kinds of stories where mathematics counts. We celebrate with worlds made out of fantastic math, characters facing challenges through math, documentaries and shorts on math in society, improv and cosplay as math people or objects, mathy punchlines, math-rich narratives from cultural traditions, and every other story element we choose. Whether you are a number geek, a writer, or a theater kid, on that day, we make up and share tales together as math friends.
A Tiny Celebration
Why not make another day a bit special? If you have a couple of minutes, on September 25, you can…
- …tell a quick math joke, or
- …read a math poem, or
- …find, enjoy and share a math comic (a picture worth a thousand words), or
(comic by John Golden at @TalkingNumbers on Tumblr) - …watch a one-minute classic mind-bending story, such as Hilbert’s Infinite Hotel,
…and say, “Happy Math Storytelling Day!”
Longer Activities
Want to get into the spirit of the day and have an hour or two? Try these activities!
- Check out and start reading a math fiction book. Here’s a curated list of current books at Mathical and a longer list of older books at Living Math.
- Volunteer to review an upcoming book at the Natural Math Future Book Club, such as Althea’s Math Mysteries, AL, Logical!, or My Hundred Friends (fall 2025).
- Read one of the math fiction titles Natural Math has published, such as Farzanah and the 17 Camels (2025). Download any of these books at the price you name from zero to infinity. They are crowdfunded by the community and available under an open Creative Commons license.
- Watch some children’s cartoons such as Cyberchase or Numberblocks, all-age animated films such as Flatland or Sphereland, or a serious social commentary story such as Counted Out or Navajo Math Circles. (It may take some work to make that happen.)
- Play through The Parable of the Polygons, an interactive mathematical story “on the shape of society.”
- Learn how to make Sona, traditional sand drawing stories by the Chokwe people of Angola, Zambia, and DRC, with the book Five Fabulous Activities for Your Math Circle.
- Check out Playful Math Carnival #182 (2025) devoted to Math Storytelling Day.
- Watch short videos from the MathStory.org competition devoted to the beauty, meaning, and uses of mathematics in life.
- And, of course…
Write and share your own math stories! #MathStorytellingDay
How it started
The meaning of Math Storytelling Day? Tell stories, make math, and share with friends. How is it going? The holiday is growing bit by bit, celebrated by families and schools, in libraries and math ed organizations, and in the wide community of math circles. Everyone has a story to tell; share a math story, and you’ll have math friends everywhere. How it started…
Once upon a time there were two friends, Sue and Maria. They both loved math, and they both loved stories, and they even shared a birthday! What are the chances of that?! Turns out, a shared birthday is surprisingly likely in a small group, but that’s another math story. They could have had so much fun on that day, except for a problem. A big problem!
Somewhere between the age of five and getting her doctorate, through adventures that are also another math story, Maria got turned off birthdays. But she still loved parties, and she loved solving problems, so she got to work. Maria read histories of holidays, looked for patterns, and brainstormed solutions with Sue and other math friends. That’s how Math Storytelling Day was born.
Now absolutely everyone can join the fun on September 25, even Dr. Maria! Sue “Math Mama” VanHattum writes, “I enjoy birthdays, and think of this holiday as a way to spread birthday joy without involving material gifts. Would you like to join us in celebrating it?”
