G4G invites you to participate in the G4G 2024 Benefit Auctions – Live and Silent. The silent auction is being hosted on eBay for Charity and all the items will be online on Saturday, February 17 at 5 pm ET and will end a week later on February 24 between 4 and 5 pm ET.
The G4G15 Benefit Auction offers the opportunity to get gifts for friends, relatives, and yourself. Proceeds fund G4G scholarships, Celebration of Mind, and other G4G outreach initiatives.
- The G4G15 LIVE Benefit Auction, organized by Nancy Blachman, is taking place after dinner on Saturday, February 24, 2024. Special unique items include hexaflexagons featured in Vi Hart’s hexaflexagon video series and a notebook with her drawings, a one-week stay in Castello di Panicale (an authentic 15th-century castle in the heart of Umbria, Italy, hosting the World Puzzle Center, with a collection of 80,000 puzzles), viewing of Martin Gardner’s files in Oklahoma and dinner with his son, and a coat used by Paul Erdös.
- The G4G15 Silent Benefit Auction, hosted by Nancy Blachman, is taking place February 17 – 24, 2024 on eBay for Charity. Items include mechanical puzzles, original artwork, G4G Gift Exchange books, and more.
Games &
Puzzles
Books &
Magazines
Artwork
& Crafts
Zoom Auction Preview
- Hosted By: Bob Hearn
- Date: Sunday, February 11, 2024 at 1:00 pm ET / 10:00 am PT (already occurred)
- What: The Zoom Auction Preview features a few special G4G-style presentations, provides details on how the auction will work, and showcases a selection of auction items. Check out this sneak peek at the list of exciting and exclusive items!
Live Auction
If you enjoy the Gathering, we encourage you to participate in the G4G live and silent auctions. The proceeds from these auctions go to support the Gathering for Gardner Foundation, our events, and outreach.
Visit the Martin Gardner’s Files in Norman, Oklahoma
Check out Martin Gardner’s files. You and up to 5 friends get to spend an afternoon in Norman, Oklahoma, exploring Martin’s files. Here’s an opportunity to experience primary sources of information that Martin used to create many of his books and articles. This event will include a dinner hosted by Martin’s son, Jim Gardner, and a tour of Martin Gardner themed artwork. Dana Richards, author of The Martin Gardner Bibliography and cataloger of Martin’s files, will be present to share documents highlighting interesting topics and correspondence. Please note that these do not include any of Martin’s papers housed at Stanford University. The files are in an unheated/non-air conditioned location. Travel to Norman is not provided.
Hexaflexagons by Vi Hart
Vi Hart, well-known for creating mathematical videos on YouTube and popularizing mathematics, shared the history of the hexaflexagon in this video and then went on to make a series of videos on Hexaflexagons. Now is your chance to own some of the Hexaflexagons featured in the Vi Hart’s Hexaflexagon videos. Everyone who bids will receive this HexaFlexagon poster created by Vi Hart and the winner will receive the original.
One Week Stay in the World Puzzle Center
A one week stay in Castello di Panicale for two people. This is an authentic 15th century castle in the heart of Umbria, Italy. You would be guests of George and Roxanne Miller in the castle that houses the World Puzzle Center, a collection of 80,000 puzzles all displayed and accessible for solving or just browsing. Breakfast included. Transportation to and from the castle is not provided and the week is to be set by mutual agreement. For more about the collection, check out the New York Times article, Need a Home for 80,000 Puzzles? Try an Italian Castle? In addition to the intellectual stimulation, there are hiking trails and bike routes just outside the castle doors.
Panicale is a small village resting atop a mountain. Unchanged by time. It is a beautiful medieval village surrounded by countryside that is ripe for exploration. It is on the border between Umbria and Tuscany and because of its location is an ideal spot to explore further afield attractions in Italy. A drive to Pisa or Rome is only 3 hours, Siena and Florence are around 2 hours away. Assisi, Spello, and Orvieto are less than an hour’s drive. All are must see Unesco World Heritage sites right at our back door.
Vi Hart Notebook with Spirals, Fibonacci, and More
Vi Hart, a “recreational mathemusician,” is well-known for creating mathematical videos on YouTube and popularizing mathematics. Wikipedia
Paul Erdös’ Coat
Now is your chance to own and wear Paul Erdös’ coat and support both G4G and the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences® (OEIS®). Proceeds from this item will be split between G4G and OEIS. This coat is suitable for framing or networking with other mathematicians. Might it lower your Erdös number?
Silent Auction
Items in the auction will be on display in the sales room at G4G15.
The silent auction only includes:
- Games & Puzzles
- Books & Magazines
- Artwork & Crafts
Vi Notebook, containing Pi is Wrong, Plant Stuff, and Doodle Music
Decagon Depth Perception by Debora Coombs
Martin Gardner Portrait Maze by Elizabeth Carpenter
Rashmi Sunder-Raj Artwork
Chinese Puzzle Posters
Chinese Puzzles: Games for the Hands and Minds
G4G Exchange Books
Online Auction Fundraiser
- When: Saturday, February 17 through Saturday, February 24, 2023
- Timing: Auction items will open for bidding between 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm ET and each individual auction item will close at the same time one week later. Individual auction items’ opening/closing times will be intentionally staggered to allow participants to easily bid on multiple items.
- Where: eBay for Charity and Partner Sites (see details below).
- What:
- A variety of items have been donated that we expect will spark the imaginations of the G4G community and like-minded friends. These items will be posted for auction via eBay for Charity where 100% of proceeds will go to support the G4G Foundation.
- At the same time, a few e-commerce websites have partnered with G4G to donate 15% of gross sales for a week.
- What kinds of items will be in the auction?
- Puzzles & Games, Artwork & Jewelry, Books & Magazines
FAQ
- Can I donate an item/service to be auctioned?
- Not for this auction. But let us know if you want to donate something for a future auction.
- How does shipping work?
- For many eBay auction items, winning bidders will be responsible for covering shipping costs, which will be paid as part of the eBay purchase. Winning bidders may also be invoiced separately via PayPal after the auction closes for additional shipping insurance coverage.
- For Partner Sites, please contact the site owner for shipping details.
- Is my purchase tax deductible?
- If you donate an item to the G4G auction, usually the fair market value of your item(s) is tax deductible. We advise you to consult a tax advisor.
- If you bid on an item on G4G’s eBay for Charity site, only the portion of the bid ABOVE the fair market value is tax deductible.
- If you purchase an item on one of our Partner Sites below, your purchase is NOT tax deductible. However, 15% of your purchase will be donated to the G4G Foundation.
- G4G will provide official tax deduction letters to all eBay auction participants (donors & bidders) after the auction concludes.
- Consult your tax advisor for your specific circumstances.
Who Can Participate
The Online Auction Fundraiser is open to everyone! G4G past attendees, potential future attendees, and the general public – all are welcome to join in the fun! Please share with your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. The more bids the better!
How to Participate
1. eBay for Charity
The G4G Auction is primarily held on eBay for Charity where 100% of auction proceeds will be donated to the G4G Foundation. The eBay auction features a variety of physical items (puzzles, art, books, and more!) as well. Functioning in the same way as the original eBay marketplace, eBay for Charity allows us to efficiently sell a wide range of donated items through their platform.
PLEASE NOTE: G4G does not offer appraisal services; auction item values are estimates provided by the item donor. These values have not been independently verified by G4G.
2. Partner Sites
In tandem with the eBay auction, G4G has partnered with a few e-commerce websites who have graciously agreed to offer a donation of 15% of gross sales from Saturday, February 17 through Saturday, February 24, 2024 (the same days as our auction) to the G4G Foundation.
Kadon Enterprises – Gamepuzzles®
Kadon Enterprises makes and sells combinatorial puzzles inspired by Martin Gardner’s writings on pentominoes and other recreational geometry. This online gallery of enchanting playthings in laser-cut acrylic and handcrafted wood has over 250 games and puzzles for minds of all ages. As their website says: so beautiful, they’re art… for the joy of thinking®.
“I have been designing, researching, developing, and producing these unique tessellations since 1979 (this is my 44th year!), and many of the G4G community know of my work and may even have collected them through the years. I have some exciting new sets to show this year, and the 15% donation offer applies to all of our sales in the last half of February 2024.” – Kate Jones, President, Kadon Enterprises, Inc. (www.gamepuzzles.com)
The two new puzzles shown here are:
“Marco Supernova” invented by Kadon’s associate Jason Ancheta in the Philippines, and named for his son Marco. Hand-painted wood pieces reverse from blue/black to red/yellow and are formed of hexagons in one to three groups (polyhexes) http://www.gamepuzzles.com/esspoly.htm#MSN.
The second new puzzle, “The Crab”, was created by the world-class puzzler Jacques Ferroul, Kadon’s friend from France. Each piece is a modified diamond, with in and out arcs on its four sides — http://www.gamepuzzles.com/tiling3.htm#CRAB. Both have many solutions, not easy. Great sources “for the joy of thinking®”.
SB Crafts – Mathematical Clocks, Apparel & More
SB Crafts designs and sells:
- Clocks that illustrate many different branches of mathematics written about by Martin Gardner. One of the clocks is itself a JRMF® puzzle (meta-puzzle: find that clock on the website).
- A unique binary pi t-shirt
- A unique onesie that uses math to promote nursing
- A brand-new bumper sticker for mathematical Ford drivers
- Cross-stitch kits
Two Brass Monkeys – Precision Engineered Brass Puzzles
The two monkeys, Ali Morris and Steve Nicholls, are long-time puzzle collectors and fans of Martin Gardner’s work. Their puzzle range includes trick opening puzzles, interlocking burrs, and some pure geometric fun! A mixture of their own designs and a few by designers who will be well known to the G4G community. 5% of sales will be donated to G4G on all new items posted in the past 3 months; 15% of sales will be donated to G4G for all other items.
3. Direct Donations
If you prefer to give a monetary donation directly to G4G, you can always do so on the donation page on our website.