Click through here for the whole presentation. We do three math “experiments” in the session all using “calling cards” other materials common in the books are corks, wine bottles, knives, candles and other handy household items from the 1890s. These are so much fun!
The Surrounding Game
MathHappens intern Asa Grumdahl is interested in Heesch numbers. Unfortunately, a formal presentation of Heesch numbers and questions surrounding them is too complicated as a starting place to engage the general public. The question then was “How might we engage novices in this sophisticated bit of mathematics?” Step one was to name this activity we were designing. “The Surrounding Game”
…
Bubble Tiles! – Updated
Bubble Tiles were inspired by a textile pattern in a book by the Japanese artist Hokusai. Find a link to his book on this info sheet. The idea is that a circle can be made of 6 60 degree arcs. Each arc can be inverted, or not and all the possible combinations make a tileset that has 13, or 14
…
Fall Teacher Workshop Hosted by Matt Hertel
What happens when Mardi Nott, Austin High School Math Department Chair, Academic UIL Coordinator, Mu Alpha Theta Sponsor, Calculator Applications Coach, President of Austin Area Council of Mathematics, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Benin ’91-’94), Member of: Delta Kappa Gamma, PEO, and Epsilon Kappa Omicron member brings a group of teachers to MathHappens Headquarters on a Saturday in mid November? They
…
MathHappens @ Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park, Dallas, TX
Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas is a great place! Their vision is “to provide a safe and natural oasis where the Dallas Community and other visitors can have fun while they Explore, Experience, Entertain, and Educate themselves.” We are very excited to be a part of it. Find out more on their website. From 11 am
…
Five Short Scenes from the Shape Studio
MathHappens has partnered with The Works Museum, an interactive STEM museum in Bloomington, MN to bring The Shape Studio to life the first and third Saturdays of each month. The Shape Studio contains a wide range of mathy fun, including tiling turtles, 21st Century Pattern Blocks, Bubble Tiles, and much, much more! We want to share with you five scenes
…
Let’s Make Math!
12 Projects & Endless Hours of Creative, Math-tastic Fun! Check it out. This book was imagined and realized by MathHappens interns Saurav Gandhi and Megan Do. It contains 12 of our favorite topics, beautiful graphics and ideas. We feel really confident it can be a resource for offering math activities in a variety of settings. We are pleased to have
…
ASTC: Association of Science and Technology Centers Conference
The ASTC (Association of Science and Technology Centers) Conference brings together science and childrens museums from all over the US with vendors, service providers and colleagues for lectures, workshops and networking. We had Booth 101, right at the bottom of the escalators and we really enjoyed our time interacting with conference participants as well as the other booth hosts. We
…
Austin Museum Day 2024!
Museum Day in Austin, Texas happens on the 2nd to the last Sunday in September. Weather is still warm and beautiful, but kids are back in school and families are ready to spend a day laughing and learning together. This year over 35 museums opened their doors offering free admission, special activities and a wonderful day out for the Austin
…
Bugfest 2024 Raleigh, North Carolina
Bugfest is the signature annual event for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science. A special section called The Math Neighborhood was organized by Maria Droujkova. And MathHappens’ own Matt Hertel made the trip to participate in this huge event. Matt brought a selection of MathHappens’ favorite puzzles and activities as well as activities related to bugs, the Butterfly Tessellating
…