Math plays a key role in dream careers ranging from fashion designer to professional chef. Show students what these jobs are all about with the Math at Work web series, a collection of videos and teaching resources that give your students a behind-the-scenes look at math-related jobs.
Watch the Math at Work trailer
Featured episodes and activities
Our latest additions to the Math at Work series feature HMH’s own in-house math expert, Richard Blankman, giving an up-close look at how math plays out in the theater and art. The original videos in the Math at Work series—on sports, entrepreneurship, fashion, culinary arts, and homebuilding—demonstrate problem solving in action as celebrities and experts help students tackle challenges in jobs that involve math. Your students can join in by completing the related lessons.
Math Meets Broadway
Broadway shows are grand, high-stakes productions that rely on the collaboration of countless creative professionals. From actors and stage designers to producers and lighting technicians, everyone has their role to play—and many of them involve math! Whether it’s budgeting, engineering set pieces, or calculating the perfect lighting angles, numbers often play a starring role in the theater. Let’s step backstage at the Broadway musical Water for Elephants to discover how math was used to make the story come to life.
Teach math through theater with our Math Meets Broadway episode and free resources.
Math at The Met
Some people think of math as rigid, defined by right or wrong answers. But math, like art, can invite creativity and expression. Open-ended math problems, for instance, can spark creativity, as the solver can pursue multiple pathways to a solution. As for art, it often hides math in plain sight. Let’s explore how math shapes and inspires art with examples from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Teach math through art with our Math at The Met episode and free resources.
Math Meets Sports
Math is often in play when it comes to the world of athletics. This series of activities explores how math and sports intersect and has students in Grades K–12 analyzing everything from shapes that the athletes use to how math can help with nutrition and goal-setting.
Teach math through sports with our Math Meets Sports free resources.
Math Meets Entrepreneurship
When you think of jobs that have to do with math, entrepreneurship may come to mind. But what are some of the main ways math skills factor in? Find out with actress Tiffany Smith and four student entrepreneurs who take their new business ideas to the set of Shark Tank. The students talk with sharks Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, and Kevin O’Leary to get tips and guidance on how to excel in business.
Teach math through entrepreneurship with our Math Meets Entrepreneurship episode and free resources.
Math Meets Fashion
Creative fields like fashion often intersect with math in surprising ways. Introduce your students to Tim Gunn, the former co-host of Project Runway and Making the Cut, as he and three students take a close look at math in fashion. They also consult with renowned fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg to hear her thoughts on how math comes into play every day in the world of clothing design.
Teach math through fashion design with our Math Meets Fashion episode and free resources.
Math Meets Culinary Arts
Among the many jobs that use math, careers in the food industry range from master chef to nutritionist to restaurateur. Join chef Carla Hall, former co-host of The Chew, as she guides three students through the ins and outs of how math works in culinary arts.
Teach math through cooking with our Math Meets Culinary Arts episode and free resources.
Math Meets Homebuilding
Ty Pennington, former host of ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition, introduces two students to the many jobs that require math in the homebuilding industry, including carpenter, architect, project manager, and engineer. The students discover that without math, it’s impossible to plan and construct a house, especially when taking into account local weather and the environment.
Teach math through homebuilding with our Math Meets Homebuilding episode and free resources.
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Discover how Into Math for Grades K–8, along with the Spanish version ¡Arriba las Matemáticas!, can raise student achievement and build productive perseverance.
This blog, originally published in 2021, has been updated for 2025.
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