Month:

What is the angle at the very top of the Ad Astra sculpture?

• September 9

Join Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics on a math walk. With the help of friends, he attempts to estimate the angle at the top of this very tall angle at the top of the Ad Astra sculpture. 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/talkst... 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

Angle a tron

• September 9

In this video, we share the ways you can use this convenient math measuring tool to explore the places you visit with your child/student, including the place they are in right now from home to campus! You can freely print the angle-a-tron tool as well as the shapefinder tool onto an acetate using these pdfs... 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 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 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

How Does a Sundial Work?

• September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor discusses the science behind sun dials, and how they work. You can create your own sun dial at home.... CONTINUE READING

What Kinds of Angles Are There?

• September 9

Angles can be found all around us, but what types of angles are there? We find various angles on UT Southwestern’s Medical Center to discuss! Join talkSTEM and UT Southwestern faculty and grad students as they explore the STEM concepts on their campus. You can freely print the angle-a-tron tool onto an acetate using this pdf: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JPfBIatPfkZzi... CONTINUE READING

What is the Highest Point on the Swing?

• September 9

Scouts love visiting Camp Whispering Cedars for its amazing ropes course – great for bonding and pushing new boundaries! The course features a zip line, ropes bridge, climbing wall, and a towering three-person swing. The swing made us wonder – exactly how high is someone pulled to start the swing? In order to figure this out, we use shadows and similar triangles. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade levels are freely available here:... CONTINUE READING