Month:

How Do You Measure Pitch and How is it Helpful?

• September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, notices the two systems of ramps that lead into the Wyly Theater Center at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. He takes some quick measurements to figure out the slope, gradient or pitch of each of the two ramps, and then discusses how mathematics keeps us safe. 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

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 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

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

What’s the Scale?

• September 9

The giant mosaic North Texas Sunrise depicts many native texan flowers, all far larger than life. Using a standard 8.5" x 11" sheet paper as a measuring device, we calculate how much larger the mosaic flowers are than the real thing, determining the scale of the artwork. 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 here:... CONTINUE READING

What’s the farthest distance between 2 points on the map?

• September 9

Does it ever seem like you parked at a store that is farthest away from the store you want? Join Dr. Glen Whitney, Founder of the National Museum of Mathematics, as you discover how to determine what the farthest points are within NorthPark Center. 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’s the biggest store?

• September 9

Join Dr. Glen Whitney, Founder of the National Museum of Mathematics, as you discover how to best estimate which store is largest, given 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/talkstem-activity-guides/... CONTINUE READING

How did Calatrava Build this Sculpture?

• September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor admires the stunning and dynamic Wave sculpture created by renowned artist Santiago Calatrava. He asks and answers three questions about this artwork: Is it straight or is it curved? Is it symmetric? How did Calatrava build this sculpture?... CONTINUE READING