Things that are further away appear smaller to the eye, an effect which can cause parallel lines to look as though they converge. Using the bookshelves as an example, we investigate why this is the case.... CONTINUE READING
Science is a collaborative effort, bringing together observations from many different times, places, and observers. The many eyes on display in the UT Southwestern Medical Center echo this, something we discuss! Join talkSTEM and UT Southwestern faculty and graduate students as they explore the STEM concepts on their campus.... CONTINUE READING
DNA is the molecule used to store genetic information in living things. Despite the vast amount of information it stores, DNA is physically very small, curled and bunched up thousands of times – in fact, if DNA was fully stretched out, it would be incredibly long! We make calculations of just how long here. Join talkSTEM and UT Southwestern faculty and grad students as they explore the STEM concepts on their campus.... CONTINUE READING
Room in the Mind by Patrick Hughes is a work of art depicting library shelves that seem to move and shift as you walk around the piece. This makes uses of motion parallax and forced perspectives to create the illusion of depth - something we discuss here. Join talkSTEM and UT Southwestern faculty and grad students as they explore the STEM concepts on their campus.... CONTINUE READING
The sculpture Undulating X is constructed from metal in the shape of a giant chromosome, a discrete spool of DNA within a cell. But if a chromosome were actually this size, rather than microscopic, how big would the person who it belongs to be? Math can help us figure that out. Join talkSTEM and UT Southwestern faculty and grad students as they explore the STEM concepts on their campus.... CONTINUE READING
Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor explores the natural phenomenon of water tapering in as it flows downward. Have you ever noticed this? A supplementary activity guide is available for this video, thanks to participation by faculty and students at Simmons School of Education and Human Development at SMU: https://talkstem.org/talkstem-activity-guid... CONTINUE READING
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
This building has a unique design element – there is a gap in the facade of the building. Why would there be one? In this video, which is geared for high school students and older, Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, discusses temperature changes that we are used to, here in Dallas. He goes on to explore the mathematical relationship between change in temperature and the expansion factor of aluminum. Supplementary Activity Guides fo... CONTINUE READING
Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York and walkSTEM advisor, admires this large and visually stunning artwork outside the front doors of the Dallas Museum of Art. He looks at this artwork and wonders how the artist “mixed” colors in this mosaic to create various effects that we, as viewers, can appreciate. He introduces the color wheel to us an interesting example of a math model. He discusses: how is the color wheel a useful mathematical model? a limited... CONTINUE READING
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