Meet Numba the Numbat
Curious about maths. Curious about everything.
Say hello to Numba the Numbat — MAWA’s new maths mascot!
Numba is curious, clever and always ready to investigate. She loves spotting patterns, asking questions, trying new ideas and discovering the mathematics hiding in the world around her.
Like all good mathematicians, Numba knows that you don’t have to know the answer straight away. Sometimes you need to explore, experiment, make a mistake, try another way — and keep wondering.
Why a numbat?
Numba is proudly Western Australian.
The numbat is WA’s animal emblem and one of our most distinctive native animals. Numbats are curious, active and resourceful — qualities that make a pretty good mathematician too!
Numba even has a little bit of maths hidden in her design. Look carefully at the stripes on her back and you might spot something special… an M for maths! or is it MAWA’s Sigma logo?
Maths is everywhere — Numba can help you find it!
Numba’s mission
Numba is here to help children, families and teachers:
- notice the maths that is everywhere
- stay curious and ask questions
- explore patterns, numbers, shapes and relationships
- have a go at challenging problems
- talk about their mathematical thinking
- discover that maths can be playful, useful and surprising
Get to know Numba
Numba is still finding her feet at MAWA — and we’d love our community to help shape her personality.
Over the coming months, you’ll have opportunities to help us discover more about Numba. What is her favourite number? What games does she love? Where will her mathematical adventures take her?
And keep an eye out for Numba’s Challenges, puzzles, activities and adventures appearing across MAWA.
Numba’s Competitions
Numba has arrived – and she needs your help to bring her world to life!
We’ve created competitions for mathematicians of all ages to enjoy.
Download the competition pages below, get creative and enter for your chance to be part of Numba’s story!
- Numba’s Colouring Comp (for children in Year 3 or younger)
- Numba’s Colouring Comp (for children in Year 6 or younger)
- Numba’s Word Search
- Number’s X-cellent Adventure
Maths is everywhere — Numba can help you find it!
This is only the beginning.
Numba will be popping up at MAWA events, in classrooms and in new resources designed to get children and families noticing, talking about and exploring mathematics together.
Where will you find maths with Numba?