Month:

How Did the Architects Play with Numbers?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor admires the unique grid up high above this space. Some questions that you get to explore are: What are louvers, and why are they useful?Can you identify other natural or man-made items which perform the same function or purpose as the louvers at the Winspear Opera House? What are the attributes of a quadrilateral, of a parallelogram? How could you measure the length of an object that is a far away fr... CONTINUE READING

What is the Artist’s Favorite Ratio?

  • September 9

Renzo Piano, the architect who designed the stunning Nasher Sculpture Center, had a favorite ratio that becomes a repeating motif in the design and the measurements of the building. How can we figure it out? Join Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, as he (together with a group of friends) takes some quick measurements to figure this out. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade levels are... CONTINUE READING

Why is There a Gap in the Building’s Facade?

  • September 9

This building has a unique design element – there is a gap in the facade of the building. Why would there be one? In this video, which is geared for high school students and older, Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, discusses temperature changes that we are used to, here in Dallas. He goes on to explore the mathematical relationship between change in temperature and the expansion factor of aluminum. Supplementary Activity Guides fo... CONTINUE READING

How Many Different Ways Can You Count?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, admires the modern structure of a high rise building in the Arts District and highlights the fact that there are many different ways to look at a mathematical problem. These methods may include: decomposition of the larger area into smaller rectangular areas and finding the larger area and then subtracting the areas of each rectangular array. He illustrates these methods by observing the windows on... CONTINUE READING

How Can Latitude Affect Design?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, observes the grid of louvers up high at the AT&T Performing Arts Center and wonders: how do the louvers act as a sunscreen? How does Dallas’s latitude affect the design of the louvers? At what angle would you have the solar panels positioned in relation to the sun’s rays, if you were designing a building? Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade... CONTINUE READING

How Can we Estimate Really Tall Things We Can’t Reach?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, uses the mathematical properties of rectangles to help him measure the width of louvers that are extremely high us. 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 w... CONTINUE READING