The Millennium Mathematics Project (MMP) is a maths education initiative for ages 5 to 19 and the general public, based at the University of Cambridge and active nationally and internationally. We aim to support maths education and promote the development of mathematical skills and understanding, particularly through enrichment activities. More broadly, we want to help everyone share in the excitement and understand the importance of mathematics.

The project consists of a family of complementary programmes, each of which has a particular focus:

• the NRICH website - thousands of free resources designed to develop problem solving skills and subject knowledge
• the Plus website - an online magazine opening a door to the world of maths, including a careers library
• the Motivate video-conferencing programme - linking schools to professional mathematicians and scientists to engage in investigative project work
• visits to schools all over the UK and abroad by the Hands-On Maths Roadshow, Enigma Project, Risk Roadshow and NRICH staff
• the Cambridgeshire Further Mathematics Centre - teaching, support and promotion of Further Maths A-level
• popular mathematics lectures for schools and the general public, held in Cambridge
• the STIMULUS programme - placing Cambridge student volunteers in local schools to assist with maths and science classes

The MMP’s various programmes have won many awards and our resources have been repeatedly commended by the UK Government’s Department for Children, Schools and Families (formerly the Department for Education and Skills). Our web-based mathematical resources attract more than 2.3 million visitors worldwide, and around 30,000 pupils and teachers annually are involved in our hands-on activities. In February 2006 the Queen presented the project with the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education (the counterpart to the Queen’s Award for Industry), honouring ‘outstanding achievement and excellence’ at world-class level.

On 1st March 2009 three intrepid polar explorers, Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley, set out on foot on a gruelling trip across the Arctic ice cap. The aim of their expedition, known as the Catlin Arctic Survey, was to gather data on ice thickness that will help to predict when the North Pole sea ice cover will melt, an event that will have dramatic consequence for the Arctic ecosystem and the Earth's climate as a whole.