Mathematics is all around us, so how could it possibly be boring?
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That was the underlying message of YouTube maths teacher and winner of Australia's Local Hero award Eddie Woo during his visit to Launceston on Monday.
During one of his talks with St Patrick's College students, he started by demonstrating the mathematical patterns that constitute the world, including the perfect parabola of a ball in flight, and finished with the science of diminishing oxygen levels on Mount Everest.
Mr Woo, whose YouTube page has almost 700,000 subscribers, said there was no need for children to consider maths as "boring".
"I'm trying to change kids' perceptions about maths and make it something positive, something that can be enjoyed, something that helps them to understand the world that's around them," he said.
"People who are into art, people who are into stories, you can find mathematics everywhere."
While many students were familiar with Mr Woo through his online maths lessons, he said it was important to meet students face-to-face across the country, including Tasmania, where he landed for the first time on Monday.
"I was speaking to some of the staff beforehand about the challenges of the remoteness of Tasmania. It's not like we're in the middle of nowhere, but at the same time, places like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane are totally spoiled by what they have access to," he said.
Mr Woo held a number of sessions with students of all ages, before attending an event with multiple schools in Launceston after.
St Patrick's maths and science co-odrinator Doug Harmon said Mr Woo had shown teachers ways to engage students in complex concepts.
"The kids saw mathematics from a new perspective, and they were very engaged. I was also reflecting on my teaching practices and thinking, 'what can I do to change it up?'" he said.
"You've always got to provide that variety to kids."
St Patrick's director of curriculum Deborah Cottle said the school jumped at the opportunity to have Mr Woo visit the school.