Month:

How many people can fit in the gym?

  • September 9

St. Philip's Academy teachers use math to verify or refute the claim that 300 billion people attended a recent basketball game. This video was supported by City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. Thanks to our partnership with Mathigon, you can enjoy this walkSTEM stop using learning extensions in the Polypad interactive virtual whiteboard. You can visit this stop's Polypad here: Polypad #1: How many r... CONTINUE READING

What patterns can you find?

  • September 9

Patterns can be found everywhere, including the hallway! talkSTEM joins faculty at St. Philips Academy in exploring the patterns in these colorful tiles. This video was supported by City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. Thanks to our partnership with Mathigon, you can enjoy this walkSTEM stop using learning extensions in the Polypad interactive virtual whiteboard. You can visit this stop's Polypad here: Polypad #1... CONTINUE READING

What is the speed of the water?

  • September 9

Ronald Kirk Bridge is a pedestrian bridge over the Trinity River in Dallas, connecting downtown Dallas and West Dallas. It is over 2,000 feet long and 60 feet wide. At the Ronald Kirk Bridge, the talkSTEM team found a natural whirlpool in the Trinity River. The video explores a strategy for estimating the speed of water. What other strategies could you use to measure the speed of a liquid? What about objects traveling through air instead of water? At talkSTEM, we know that math isn't always perf... CONTINUE READING

How can we measure arches and lines?

  • September 9

Over 7 million people visit the West End Historic District every year! What if they all stood in line to visit? What would that look like? We use math to help us understand this gargantuan number! This video was supported by City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.... CONTINUE READING

Using arrays, how many windows are there?

  • September 9

What's the best way to figure out the number of windows on the Texas School Book Depository? Math, of course! Watch the video to see how we applied the concept of arrays to answer this question. This video was supported by City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.... CONTINUE READING

How tall are the flagpoles?

  • September 9

Towering over Dallas City Hall Plaza are 3 flag poles. How do we use similar triangles and shadows to determine their height? This video was supported by City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.... 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

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

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