Month:

Angle a tron

  • September 9

In this video, we share the ways you can use this convenient math measuring tool to explore the places you visit with your child/student, including the place they are in right now from home to campus! You can freely print the angle-a-tron tool as well as the shapefinder tool onto an acetate using these pdfs... CONTINUE READING

How tall is the Ad Astra sculpture?

  • September 9

Join Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics on a math walk. He uses the power of similar triangles to calculate the height of a giant sculpture inside the NorthPark Center. How can we estimate the height of the sculpture without getting a ladder? This video was supported by NorthPark Center. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade levels are freely available here:... CONTINUE READING

What is the angle at the very top of the Ad Astra sculpture?

  • September 9

Join Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics on a math walk. With the help of friends, he attempts to estimate the angle at the top of this very tall angle at the top of the Ad Astra sculpture. This video was supported by NorthPark Center. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade levels are freely available here: https://talkstem.org/talkst... CONTINUE READING

What are Color Equations?

  • September 9

Join Dr. Glen Whitney, Founder of the National Museum of Mathematics, on a math walk. As you walk throughout NorthPark Center, you may notice a pattern of artwork that reoccurs. There are several panels that appear like addition equations with color. Can you add colors like numbers? Dr.Glen Whitney explores the concept of adding colors using a color wheel. On a color wheel, you can calculate the angle bisector of two colors to find the resulting color if the two were mixed. We discuss how there... CONTINUE READING

Similar Triangles or Not?

  • September 9

What are similar triangles and how can we tell if triangles are similar or if they are not? Students and faculty from CityLab High School, Dallas ISD join us on a beautiful day at Fair Park, an architectural treasure trove in the city of Dallas to explore this question using the sights of the Esplanade. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade levels are freely available here:... CONTINUE READING

How Do Cylinders Make Beautiful Shapes?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, is struck by the cylinders obvious in the design of this modern building. The building is formed from two cylinders that intersect to form a beautiful parabola. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade levels are freely available here: https://talkstem.org/talkstem-ac... CONTINUE READING

What Can You Measure in Bamboo Plants?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, wonders what we can measure in the bamboo plants located at the entry to the Nasher Sculpture Center. Suggestions include length of nodes, distance between leaves, circumference of stalks, and more. Dr. Whitney then explores the possibility of a mathematical relationship between some of these measurements and age of the bamboo. How would we figure out if there was a relationship and also what type o... CONTINUE READING

What is the Really Big Number Here?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, has fun with a really big number by estimating the number of stones that were used to build the sidewalk on Flora street. Using number arrays, estimation, and collaborative groupwork, Dr Whitney and friends come up with their estimate and then visualize how tall of a tower these stones would be if they were to be stacked up vertically. Can you guess? Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to e... CONTINUE READING

How Can Shapes Create Feelings?

  • September 9

Architect I. M. Pei designed this visually striking building. Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, points out that the effect of the design is dependent in part on the use of two geometric shapes that are unexpectedly used together. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade levels are freely available here:... CONTINUE READING

What is a Mathematical Fossil Hunt?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, takes us on a mathematical fossil hunt as we observe a modern water feature at the Texas Sculpture Walk. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade levels are freely available here: https://talkstem.org/talkstem-activity-guides/ Support for these guides was provided... CONTINUE READING