Austin Museum Day was the first time MathHappens had an official event at the Texas Medical Association!

The new exhibit at the Texas Medical Association is titled: ““When Disaster Strikes…Six Catastrophes That Changed Texas Medicine.” Going with that theme, MathHappens brought activities that related to historic cholera epidemics. John Snow used Voronoi patterns, formed using circumcenters of triangles, to discover how cholera was spreading from water wells.

Miraculously, this same Voronoi pattern occurs in nature, including on plants and animals. You can find these in plant leaves, on giraffes, tortoises, dried mud, and more. We provided pictures of these patterns so visitors could make their own stained-glass “ornaments.” We also had a microscope with slides of dragonfly and locust wings so visitors could observe the Voronoi patterns in the wings. We provided a bubble timer shaped in the form of an hourglass, where the bubbles also combine to form Voronoi patterns. Additionally, the Texas Medical Association provided snacks and water bottles that would normally be handed out after a disaster.

Josephine and Rosemary did a great job managing the activities and interacting with visitors, including high school students coming for extra credit in their math classes. We thank the Texas Medical Association for having us and look forward to partnering again in the future.

To read more about our activities at other locations on Austin Museum Day, please click the following links:

• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
• Harry Ransom Center
• Neill-Cochran House Museum
• Austin Nature and Science Center