Month:

Is it possible to measure an animal’s behavior?

• September 9

Animals have a wide varieties of behaviors, many of which can be difficult to analyze. To make animal behavior research easier, scientists use ethograms - tables of possible behaviors that they can check off as the observation goes on. The ethogram used by zoo employees to study their elephants is discussed, and ways of making use of and presenting that data investigated. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant DRL 2115393. Any opinions, findings... CONTINUE READING

What determines where leaves are positioned on branches?

• September 9

Leaves are what plants use to gather sunlight, necessary for plants to grow and thrive. This means that it is to a plant's advantage if their leaves' position is such that all leaves receive the most possible sunlight - minimizing overlaps and shadow wherever possible! Different plants use different strategies and arrangements to make this happen, though there are some common trends across many different species. By using a protractor to measure the angles between leaves, we can tease out some o... CONTINUE READING

What is the pattern in the climbing wall?

• September 9

Join these young scholars from Girls Inc. Metropolitan of Dallas as they explore their playground. This content was made by community members from Girls Inc Metropolitan of Dallas - we invite all interested groups to reach out and find more information on creating content of their own with us at talkstem.org/create-your-own-walkstem !... 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’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

What Mathematical Differences Do We See?

• September 9

The four individual works that make up Campanile Window have a similar-looking structure to each other, but are not identical. Methods of quantifying some of their differences mathematically are discussed, analyzing color, lines, and interior 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 here:... 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

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

How Do You Create Your Own Labyrinth?

• September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor discusses the differences between a labyrinth and a maze and poses the math questions that directly relate to the design of a labyrinth, which is a winding path that never repeats, and yet has only one route that can take you from the outer edge to the center. How do you design a labyrinth? How many different labyrinths could there be or is this the only one?... CONTINUE READING

How can we design our own mosaic pattern?

• September 9

In this video, we invite you to design your own pattern. Be inspired by the design we see here at red Bird Mall and come up with your own pattern. We invite all interested groups to reach out and find more information on creating content of their own math walk or STEM walking tour with us at https://talkstem.org/create-your-own-walkstem.... CONTINUE READING