Youth explore Fibonacci sequences in sunflowers while learning algebra through hands-on activities in week-long summer program

In room 106 in the Mathematics and Physics building, someone has scrawled curious numbers across the whiteboard: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55. To some people, they might look random. But to the young STEM campers seated at tables covered with sunflower photographs, these numbers represent something extraordinary.

“The end result is that if you count the spirals, you’re always going to end up with one of these Fibonacci numbers, which is one of the weird ways it comes up,” explains Gideon Reszka, a math major and physics minor at CSU Pueblo who’s helping instruct the camp.

The Fibonacci sequence, where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones, appears throughout nature in surprising ways. In sunflowers, the spirals of seeds follow this mathematical pattern. It’s the kind of discovery that makes one 12-year-old camper perk up.

“It relates to the real world, but it’s also fun,” the camper says, having just finished counting spirals on his sunflower image. When asked what’s fun about math camp, he added that it’s about impressing his 11-year-old brother with his newfound knowledge. “ He’s got a long way to go before he understands this kind of stuff.”

This is exactly the kind of enthusiasm Rick Kreminski hopes to spark. The professor of mathematics and physics has spent decades in administration, serving as dean, interim provost, and provost before returning to teaching in 2018. Now, as he prepares for retirement, he’s channeling his service-oriented nature into hands-on STEM education for local youth.

“We can do a lot of hands-on activities that it’s much more difficult to do at much larger institutions,” Kreminski explains. “It is part of our mission to do service.”

CSU Pueblo’s Extended Studies program coordinates the week-long camp, bringing together this group of children ranging from nine to “almost 13,” as one camper describes himself. They come from across the region, some through scholarships funded by faculty members like Roberto Mejias, who sponsored four students this year. Campus Connections, a program led by Laura Gribble, an instructor at the university, who identifies and supports students with STEM interests.

Pedro Arrieta, a junior mechatronics engineering student, serves as the other instructor as part of a summer job program. For him, the STEM camp’s value goes beyond just teaching math concepts. “The Fibonacci sequence appears a lot in nature,” he tells the campers. “It’s cool to recognize different patterns and see how math relates to the real world.”

The diverse age range challenges instructors to find creative solutions. “We had to improvise,” Reszka says. “We go through the tasks individually.” The personalized attention creates an almost tutoring-like environment which the students clearly appreciate.

Another student who has his younger sister in the class notices the difference immediately. “There’s only one instructor” in regular school, he observes, compared to having two college students guiding the small group through complex concepts like algebra using colorful tiles and geometric proofs.

The camp costs $300 but scholarships and discounts from CSU Pueblo Extended Studies make it accessible to families throughout the community.

Beyond mathematics, the camp includes hands-on activities that blur the lines between learning and play. At the beginning of the week, campers met chickens brought by the extension office and played with worms near the campus amphitheater. On this visit, the schedule includes team-building exercises, games, and educational videos from the CSU Extension system.

For Reszka, the experience provides valuable preparation for his future career. “It’s important to be able to explain stuff if you’re a math major,” he says. “It helps you understand it better.”

Instructors design the camp to make mathematics and STEM accessible and exciting to young minds at a crucial age when many students begin to decide whether they see themselves as “math people.” By connecting abstract concepts to natural phenomena like sunflower spirals, the instructors help students see mathematics not as a series of disconnected procedures but as a language that describes the world around them.