APH Abacus Bee

The APH Abacus Bee is a fun and engaging competition designed to ignite a passion for mathematics in students who are blind or have low vision. By allowing the use of various formats like print, braille, UEB math, or Nemeth code, the competition ensures that participants can use methods that suit their individual learning styles. The APH Abacus Bee encourages the use of mental math and abacus skills, unlocking students’ full mathematical potential. To learn more, check out Calculating Confidence article.

The APH Abacus Bee is divided into two phases. The preliminary regional contests, organized by partner organizations or schools, provide a platform for students to compete locally and showcase their skills within their communities. This phase not only fosters healthy competition but also allows students to meet and engage with other students from their region!

Does this sound like something a student you know would enjoy? Encourage them to join the excitement, boost their confidence, and let the APH Abacus Bee inspire their journey into the fascinating world of mathematics and beyond!

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Beyond Calculations & Testimonials

Even though each competition varied in size and location, there was one common theme amongst them all: CONFIDENCE. When asked, the regional coordinators and participants’ families all commented on how much of a confidence boost it was for the students to compete and show off their talents. Don’t just take our word for it, here’s what some of student participants and their families had to say about their experience:

• “In the past two years of participating in the Abacus Bee, I have definitely noticed a positive change in my son’s attitude toward math. He is more confident and seems to recognize his gift more readily and is thinking about ways that he can use it in his future career.” – parent
• “I met other nice students and liked how everyone got an award. I used a great mental math strategy that helped me to do great in the Oral (Space Race) Round!” – student
• “Thank you for offering this event! It has instilled a great deal of confidence in my son and has definitely inspired his interest and abilities in math!” – parent
• “I loved the Abacus Bee. My favorite part was meeting new friends!” – student
• “I loved the red-carpet event! The look of joy and pride on each child’s face showed how much the enjoyed the event!” – parent
• “For me personally, this shared experience with my granddaughter truly opened my eyes to the challenges she faces now and will carry throughout life, but also all the massively inspiring young people and volunteers I met, this was a humbling experience and so grateful I was able to attend.” – grandparent

Here are APH trainings, products, and tips to help you prepare your student for the Abacus Bee Competition! Check out these options:

APH Courses and Webinars:

• APH HIVE – See the course titled “The Abacus: A Million Manipulatives in Your Pocket”. Create a free account quickly and easily with your email address and take this course on your own time, at your own speed. The course modules explain the importance of the abacus and walks learners through addition and subtraction on the abacus. This is a great starting point for teachers and parents alike.
• APH Access Academy Recordings: Watch recorded webinars on APH’s YouTube Channel. Get out your abacus and follow along. (Familiarity with the abacus is needed – start with the HIVE Course above!)
  • Multiplication on the abacus
  • Division on the abacus
• Watch APH Excel Summer Camp Webinars: “Oreos and Abaci” 

Products:

• Quick Pick Counting
• SlapStack Math App

Tips:

• Try out some of our Practice Exams that are available to download
• Practice your 100s times tables together!
• Practice your 10s complements for addition/subtraction
• Remember good testing procedures such as:
• Getting a good nights sleep before the event
• Eat a healthy breakfast
• Take deep breaths. Slow down and don’t rush. Correct answers are better than lots of wrong answers.
• If you finish early, go back and review your answers!

 

If you are looking for a regional competition near you, contact the representative(s) in your state from the list below:

• Arizona: [email protected]
• Arkansas: [email protected]
• Florida: [email protected]
• Iowa: [email protected]
• Kentucky: [email protected]
• Louisiana: [email protected]
• Maryland: [email protected]
• Michigan: To be announced
• New Jersey: [email protected] and [email protected]
• North Carolina: [email protected]
• Pennsylvania: [email protected]
• South Carolina: [email protected] and [email protected]
• West Texas: [email protected]
• East Texas: [email protected] and [email protected]
• Washington: [email protected] and [email protected]

The National Finals Abacus Bee Competition was held in Louisville, KY on February 26-March 1, 2026.

Thanks to the Simons Foundation’s ongoing support, the 3rd Annual APH Abacus Bee engaged ten regional competition partners in Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Kentucky, Washington, Iowa, Kansas & Missouri, Michigan, Texas, and South Carolina.

A total of 129 students participated in the regional competitions and from that 30 finalists came to Louisville, KY on March 14 – 15th to compete in the 2025 Abacus Bee Finals! Between our contestants, their families, TVIS, APH staff and more we had over 120 attendees at this year’s finals. To learn more about the event and find out who are winners were check out our blog, APH’s Abacus Bee Encourages STEM Success.

Make sure to check out this video of the 2025 Finals, created by our sponsor, Simons Foundation, that captures the excitement of the Finals event from this past spring!

APH was pleased to invite 31 finalists to the Abacus Bee Finals event in Louisville, KY on March 21-24.  We had finalists from each of our participating regionals. Here’s the breakdown of who came and from where!

Finalists by State:

• Florida | 9
• Kentucky | 6
• New Jersey | 2
• Washington | 5
• Maryland | 3
• Iowa | 6

If you have questions regarding the finals event, please contact our Northcentral Region Outreach Specialist, Jennifer Brooks​ at [email protected].

2024 Abacus Bee Results

Twenty-nine finalists from each region gathered in Louisville, KY between March 21-24, 2024, to compete in the National Abacus Bee Final. You can read all about the competition and other events that took place in our blog, Summing Up Success: 2024 Abacus Bee Finals.

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The Finalists

Having placed as finalists in their respective states’ regional Abacus Bees, 29 blind or low vision students came from Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Kentucky, Washington, and Iowa to compete in the Abacus Bee Finals 2024. Below are the finalists from each of the 5 categories of competition:

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The Winners

Congratulations to our winners of the Abacus Bee Finals 2024!

Starters

• 1st place: Pyper Buren, Kentucky
• 2nd place: Makenna Harrod, Kentucky
• 3rd place (tie): Jaydyn Burge, Iowa; Jose Echeverria, Kentucky

Movers

• 1st place: Mackenzie Gibson, Kentucky
• 2nd place: Julianna Placido, Florida
• 3rd place (tie): Gent Wyatt, Iowa; Cooper Wardell, Washington

Riders

• 1st place: Xia Qiang, Washington
• 2nd place: Kayla Bartholomew, Iowa
• 3rd place: Maely Porter, Florida

Flyers

• 1st place: Luke Stolarczyk, Florida
• 2nd place: Logan Strickland, Florida
• 3rd place: Adelyn McNew, Washington

Blasters

• 1st place: Dylan Carter, Iowa
• 2nd place: Madeline Mau, New Jersey

This program is funded by Simons Foundation International and administered by the Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture division.

APH is not expanding the program to new states in the 2026-2027 competition year. If your agency is interested in participating in this event, your information will be added to a waitlist. Contact our Northcentral Region Outreach Specialist, Jennifer Brooks​ at [email protected] for more info.