D-Backs going “Extra Innings” to teach kids how to do math
Jun 22, 2012, 2:06 PM | Updated: 2:06 pm
Over 4,000 kids and their families will be cheering on the Arizona Diamondbacks as they play the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.
But while these kids are rooting for the home team, they’ll also be doing math problems. T
hey are part of the club’s “Extra Innings” STEM program, designed to teach kids about science, technology, engineering, and math through baseball.
“Our game is all about math,” said D-backs President Derrick Hall. “It’s all about batting percentages, wins and losses, divisional numbers and winning percentages.”
The program is in 30 different schools all over the state. The kids coming to the game tonight are from as far as San Luis, Ariz. and Flagstaff, Ariz.
Extra Innings just started this year, but it has already hit a home run with the club, who is already looking to include more schools. It’s also drawing attention from other clubs.
“We recently sent the individual that came up with the concept to a convention in New Orleans to teach this concept,” said Hall. “Now both major and minor league teams are going out to do the same thing.”
The kids will get a tour of Chase Field tonight, as well as a workbook to keep track of all the numbers for the game.
