On Saturday afternoons, a collection of some of the brightest children in the Wichita community can be found meeting on the third floor of Jabara Hall at Wichita State.

WSU Math Circle is a program that provides free classes to fifth- and sixth-graders in the community who are interested in extra math discussions.

The program was started by the Department of Math, Statistics and Physics. The classes are taught by a group of volunteer WSU math professors.

This weekend, a group of about 25 students and 10 adults met to discuss the history of number systems and the binary system. Volunteer Bill Richardson was this week’s lecturer.

Richardson is retired, but still teaches a math history class at WSU.

Peter Daood is a sixth-grader at The Independent School in Wichita. Daood is new in town and his was his first Math Circle. He is interested in computer programming and hopes to turn his interest into a career.

Daood heard about the program from his teacher. Daood said this class “feels more advanced” than what he would be learning in his own math class.

The goal of the program is to keep kids interested in math, Richardson said. He organizes discussion topics for the lectures.

This particular lecture focused on Roman and Egyptian numerals. Afterwards, students walked on their multiplaction tables.

Richardson recognizes that most of these students are highly advanced and have a strong interest in the subject already.

The retired professor knows the history of math and is able to give background information about various math topics. This allows children to make connections between what they’re doing and where it came from.

Daood’s mother, Alice Daood, attended Saturday’s session with her son.

Alice said the program is an important opportunity for kids to be able to further their education a little on the weekend. She agrees that the program is somewhat advanced, but says that some of the material is also supplementary.

“It gives them a chance to learn about something they might not discuss in school,” she said. “I didn’t even know about some of it.”