Katniss Everdeen, the Famous Five and Captain Underpants have been unleashed in Northern Tasmania.
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In nooks and crannies across the region, books have been “released into the wild” for the Book Capture project.
Book Capture is the brainchild of University of Tasmania associate professor of maths education Tracey Muir and has been funded by UTAS and the Maths Association of Tasmania.
About 60 books have been hidden at different locations across the region and the project encourages children and their families to search for the “wild books.”
Pupils who sign up to Book Capture can see clues on the locations of the books on the project’s website.
Once they have found a book “in the wild” they need to read it, find the maths component in the book and answer questions on the website to successfully register the book as “found.”
After it has been registered and found, the book can then be released back in another location and the pupil can upload a new clue for the next seeker.
Books are also tracked on the website to see how many kilometres they’ve travelled. A map tracks the location of each book.
Professor Muir said she hoped to see the Book Capture project go viral, like popular app Pokemon Go.
“I would like to see it go everywhere,” she laughed.
“Imagine if you saw a book that had ended up in Paris.”
Professor Muir is the author of several books educating people on how to use picture books to teach maths.
“I have really been interested in ways to bring maths and literacy together and I thought this was a good way to show maths opportunities are everywhere,” she said.
“I wanted to teach the children that maths opportunities can be found everywhere and to encourage them to be curious about the world.”
A key tenet to the project is that it connects across curriculum the subjects literacy and numeracy.
Professor Muir said she was excited the launch had gone so well.
“It was good to see them so excited and engaged,” she said.
Book Capture members can also earn rewards based on how many books they find and release.
Each time a book is found and logged, a review is written, a book is released, or a new book is released it will earn points.
High point earners will receive a $20 book voucher.
The project was launched at Exeter Primary School on Wednesday. So far, Exeter, Perth and East Tamar primary schools have signed up to the project.
All the books have been donated by the school of by participating families. To get involved go to the website.