Why is the bollard this shape?
- September 9
A high school student at Hockaday School created a campus STEM walk for elementary students to enjoy. In this walk stop, she wonders why the traffic bollard is the shape it is.... CONTINUE READING
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How tall is the sculpture?
- September 9
A high school student at Hockaday School created a campus STEM walk for elementary students to enjoy. In this walk stop, she stops at a tall sculpture that contains glass shapes created by Hockaday students and invites us to estimate the height of the sculpture and also to estimate the total number of glass shapes on the sculpture using some math detective work!... CONTINUE READING
What is the golden ratio?
- September 9
A high school student at Hockaday School created a campus STEM walk for elementary students to enjoy. In this walk stop she explores the golden ratio that she sees in the dance studio on campus.... CONTINUE READING
How many sections are there?
- September 9
A high school student at Hockaday School created a campus STEM walk for elementary students to enjoy. In this walk stop, she looks at the beautifully statue of Hypatia, an ancient Egyptian mathematician and astronomer who died 415 AD. Here she notices the circle surrounding the sections and asks us to do some math to figure out the number of sections within this circle.... CONTINUE READING
How many tiles are there?
- September 9
A high school student at Hockaday School created a campus STEM walk for elementary students to enjoy. In this walk stop, she comes up with a strategy for estimating the total number of tiles making up a walkway on campus.... CONTINUE READING
How long is the spiral?
- September 9
A high school student at Hockaday School created a campus STEM walk for elementary students to enjoy. In this walk stop she explores a spiral artwork on campus and invites children to estimate the length of the spiral using their math detective skills.... CONTINUE READING
How does the pendulum move?
- September 9
A high school student at Hockaday School created a campus STEM walk for elementary students to enjoy. In this walk stop, she looks at the large pendulum the school is fortunate enough to have.... CONTINUE READING
What’s the Mathematical Pattern?
- September 9
The floor tiles used to make Untitled (Love Field) by Lane Banks only come in four colors, but never allow two rings of the same color to touch. With that in mind, methods of calculating how many permutations – specific, ordered arrangements – of these segments are possible are discussed. This uses the mathematical concept of factorials to practice combinatorics – the study of combinations and permutations. This video was supported by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. Suppleme... CONTINUE READING
What is Bernoulli’s Principle?
- September 9
The sculpture Luminaria highlights multiple scientific principles involved in the function of aircraft with the shapes cut into the steel cylinders it’s made up of. One of these is, represented by swirling lines, is Bernoulli’s principle, used to characterize how forcing air to travel at different speeds can generate a lifting force. The way this principle is taken advantage of through mechanical engineering to help airplane wings fly is discussed. This video was supported by the City of Dal... CONTINUE READING
How Do Artists Use Technology?
- September 9
The design of a sculpture like Luminaria takes a lot of work, and technology can help make that happen! From the initial data turned into the patterns on the lanterns sides, to the compute software used to shape them into a wrap-around lantern, to the steel-cutting and engineering needed to construct and install them, the sections of this piece prove great examples of how art and science are never far apart. This video was supported by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. Supplementary... CONTINUE READING