Do the participants of the International Math Olympiad spend their time simply solving math problems? Not really. After the Olympiad competition, the young contestants are being given an introduction to the history and heritage of Norway. On Wednesday the young mathematicians were taken on a tour of Norway's famous museum Munch. On Thursday they are being taken on a visit to the Tusenfryd Adventure Park. And then there will be the results and concluding ceremony.
We of the Bangladesh math team went off on a trip to Vigeland Park. This is said to be the world's largest sculpture park. Its actual name is Frogner Park. But this park spread out over 100 acres is better known by tourists as Vigeland Park.
As children we had learned that Norway is the Land of the Midnight Sun. It is so called because from May to July, the sun shines here even late at night. Young Bangladeshi researcher Imran Iqbal, who has been living long in Norway, shared a lot of details about the country with us. He said that the standard of living in Norway was higher than most other countries in Europe, but it is extremely expensive too. Norway spends a lot on education and research. University education is free there.
Norway can easily be called a land of museums. It has around 750 museums in all. That's a lot of museums in a country with a population of 5.3 million. In the Munch Museum, as the name suggests, the works of the artist Edvard Munch are on display. The math team students were enthusiastic about visiting this museum.
IMO participants from all countries joined an event hosted in their honour by the mayor at the Oslo City Hall. This is the world famous hall where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented. The mayor called upon the Olympiad participants to prepare themselves for the future.