Month:

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 does environment affect a building?

  • September 9

The Dallas Holocaust Museum is striking in its appearance and we used our STEM lens during our recent visit to appreciate its design. This video was supported by City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.... CONTINUE READING

Can Math Help Grass Grow?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, rapidly brainstorms a series of questions about the grasses he notices in the planters outside a building on a busy street. He illustrates for us that the math and STEM-related questions we can ask about everyday objects are almost endless and that it’s a lot of fun to ask these questions in our everyday lives!... CONTINUE READING

What Can You Measure in Bamboo Plants?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, wonders what we can measure in the bamboo plants located at the entry to the Nasher Sculpture Center. Suggestions include length of nodes, distance between leaves, circumference of stalks, and more. Dr. Whitney then explores the possibility of a mathematical relationship between some of these measurements and age of the bamboo. How would we figure out if there was a relationship and also what type o... CONTINUE READING

What are Fractals?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, notices the beautiful, glossy leaves of the magnolia leaves that he walks by on this tour and call out the math pattern of the veins in the leaves. This fractal pattern, where the shape repeats itself but at a progressively smaller scale is common in nature and is a fascinating, relatively new field in mathematics. Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grad... CONTINUE READING

What is Mathematical about a Tree?

  • September 9

Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor wonders what is mathematical about trees. He asks why do trees always have a larger singular trunk at the Earth, and more smaller branches in the sky? Why not one singular branch that stretches up? Dr. Glen Whitney explores this natural phenomenon that applies to all trees. A supplementary activity guide is available for this video, thanks to participation by faculty and students at Simmons School of... 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 Did You Hear on Your Sound Walk?

  • September 9

A Sound Walk is a great way to really observe the beautiful environment of the campgrounds using our sense of hearing. We invite everyone to go on a soundwalk here at Camp Whispering Cedars or wherever they may be! 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/ We invite all interested... CONTINUE READING