Maths Kangaroo was initiated in 1980 by the famous Australian mathematician Peter O'Halloran, and in 1991, two famous French mathematics educators set up an official organising committee to promote the event around the world. In tribute to Peter O'Halloran, the event was named Maths Kangaroo.
Unlike traditional Olympiads which emphasise high levels of difficulty and challenge, Maths Kangaroo is designed to inspire children to learn mathematics with fun, lively and life-like topics, to develop their mathematical thinking, and to train them to read, understand, analyse and solve problems at all levels of mathematics. As a result, Maths Kangaroo has become the world's most influential international mathematical thinking challenge for young people, with more than 6.3 million students participating each year in 87 countries and territories worldwide.