Month:

How Can Basic Shapes Create Complex Art?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, enjoys connecting the arts and mathematics. He takes a look at the Pegasus sculpture outside of the the Booker T Washington high school and notices the collection of varied shapes used by the artist to create this complex form. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade levels are freely available here:... 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

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

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

How High Does it Climb?

  • September 9

The sculpture Venture, by Alexander Liberman, is composed of several steel tubes, stacked toward the sky. At such a great height, measuring its size by hand can be a challenge; instead visual estimation must be used. Additionally, the shapes comprising Venture are discussed, involving various ellipses and special forms that can even be recreated at home! This video was supported by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learn... CONTINUE READING

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’s the distance around the mall?

  • September 9

If you walked around the whole NorthPark Center, how far would you have walked? Join Dr. Glen Whitney, Founder of the National Museum of Mathematics, as you discover how to estimate how far you've traveled using a map. 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/talks... CONTINUE READING

How Fast Can You Go?

  • September 9

Whether you’re at Fair Park or even driving around certain parts of Dallas, it’s hard to miss the towering site of the Texas Star Ferris Wheel! After all, it’s the largest Ferris wheel in the United States. As you’re watching it turn, there are lots of things you might wonder about, but if you’re like us, one of the first that comes to mind is: How fast is your gondola whisking through the air when you ride it? Join students and faculty from Greenhill School in exploring this question.... CONTINUE READING

How do Forces Work?

  • September 9

The sculpture Sky uses a structural system of fiberglass rods to keep all of its components supported and in place. The arrangement of these rods make use of tension and compression forces to spread out weight and and force along the entire structure – something that we can analyze through basic shapes. This video was supported by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade levels are freely available her... 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