ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences

The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) is like a really big clubhouse for really smart people who are really good at math. Think of it like a secret club that only the coolest and smartest kids can join.

PIMS helps these smart people (also known as mathematicians) work together and share their ideas to solve tough math problems. You know how you might work together with your friends to solve a puzzle or build a cool tower with blocks? Math is like a big puzzle that these mathematicians get to work on all day long.

But PIMS isn't just a clubhouse. They also want to teach other people about math and why it's so important. Math can help us understand things in the world around us, like how gravity works or how much money we need to save up to buy a toy. PIMS helps teach teachers how to teach math better so that everyone can learn and have fun doing it.

So even though PIMS is a big clubhouse for smart math kids, they aren't keeping all the fun to themselves. They want everyone to be excited about math too!