Navajo Nation Math Circles – Baa Hózhó Summer Camp
Navajo Technical University – Chinle Campus, Lowerpoint Rd State Hwy 371, Crownpoint, AZ 87313
About
Navajo Nation Math Circles – Baa Hózhó Summer Camp is a two-week non-residential camp for kids in grades 6–12. The program includes activities such as a Math Festival, Julia Robinson Math Festival, sessions on Mathematical Origami and Rational Tangles, and a Navajo Language Course as part of its broader work with students and teachers.
• Ages: 11–18 years old
• Schedule: Two-week non-residential camp
The Baa Hózhó Summer Camp is part of the Navajo Nation Math Circles (NNMC) project, which began in the fall of 2012 after earlier teacher workshops in southern Utah in 2011 and 2012 and a Circle on the Road workshop in Tempe, Arizona, in 2010. Since 2012, NNMC activities have included school-based math circles at five schools, professional development sessions for teachers at Diné College over one and a half days, teacher workshops in Arizona, and workshops and school visits in March 2015 and 2016. The 2026 Summer Math Camp is planned as part of this ongoing series of Navajo Nation Math Circles Summer Math Camps.
The NNMC project states that its mission is to bring high-quality mathematical outreach to students and teachers in the Navajo Nation, to share fun and rewarding mathematics with everyone, and to honor the language, culture, and history of the Diné in its work. The project partners with over 80 mathematicians across the United States and describes its problem “scripts” as the kinds of problems that invite playfulness and persistence, emphasizing that “this is NOT textbook math.” The project states that it wants participants to be able to say, “I am Diné and I love mathematics,” and refers to this combination as “baa hózhó mathematics.”
The program leadership includes co-directors Dr. David Auckly (Mathematics, Kansas State University) and Dr. Henry Fowler (Mathematics, Navajo Technical University). The leadership history also includes Tatiana, Amanda, and Bob, who have shared administrative duties and now serve on the NNMC advisory board, with Amanda having formed the Riverbend Community Math Center in 2006 and Bob joining NNMC in 2014 and returning for later camps and workshops. Additional staff credentials mentioned include Shannon Marie Guerrero, who was the principal investigator of a Noyce grant through Northern Arizona University.
The NNMC project describes extensive community involvement, including bringing mathematicians to Navajo Nation schools to work with students during the school day, offering content-based professional development for K–12 teachers from Navajo schools, providing mentorship to students and teachers, and sharing problem “scripts” for teacher use. The project lists support over the years from institutions such as Diné College, Navajo Technical University, multiple colleges and universities, professional mathematical organizations, foundations, and other partners. The program credits the National Science Foundation and the National Security Administration for major funding during its first decade and notes that Math for America now provides major funding for NNMC.
Last updated February 25, 2026.
• Ages: 11–18 years old
• Schedule: Two-week non-residential camp
The Baa Hózhó Summer Camp is part of the Navajo Nation Math Circles (NNMC) project, which began in the fall of 2012 after earlier teacher workshops in southern Utah in 2011 and 2012 and a Circle on the Road workshop in Tempe, Arizona, in 2010. Since 2012, NNMC activities have included school-based math circles at five schools, professional development sessions for teachers at Diné College over one and a half days, teacher workshops in Arizona, and workshops and school visits in March 2015 and 2016. The 2026 Summer Math Camp is planned as part of this ongoing series of Navajo Nation Math Circles Summer Math Camps.
The NNMC project states that its mission is to bring high-quality mathematical outreach to students and teachers in the Navajo Nation, to share fun and rewarding mathematics with everyone, and to honor the language, culture, and history of the Diné in its work. The project partners with over 80 mathematicians across the United States and describes its problem “scripts” as the kinds of problems that invite playfulness and persistence, emphasizing that “this is NOT textbook math.” The project states that it wants participants to be able to say, “I am Diné and I love mathematics,” and refers to this combination as “baa hózhó mathematics.”
The program leadership includes co-directors Dr. David Auckly (Mathematics, Kansas State University) and Dr. Henry Fowler (Mathematics, Navajo Technical University). The leadership history also includes Tatiana, Amanda, and Bob, who have shared administrative duties and now serve on the NNMC advisory board, with Amanda having formed the Riverbend Community Math Center in 2006 and Bob joining NNMC in 2014 and returning for later camps and workshops. Additional staff credentials mentioned include Shannon Marie Guerrero, who was the principal investigator of a Noyce grant through Northern Arizona University.
The NNMC project describes extensive community involvement, including bringing mathematicians to Navajo Nation schools to work with students during the school day, offering content-based professional development for K–12 teachers from Navajo schools, providing mentorship to students and teachers, and sharing problem “scripts” for teacher use. The project lists support over the years from institutions such as Diné College, Navajo Technical University, multiple colleges and universities, professional mathematical organizations, foundations, and other partners. The program credits the National Science Foundation and the National Security Administration for major funding during its first decade and notes that Math for America now provides major funding for NNMC.
Last updated February 25, 2026.
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