We are delighted that CPM.org will be partnering with us by distributing conic section models to attendees at NCTM Indianapolis. They are also supporters of Public Math as you can see by the nifty Math Vending Machine at the booth in New Orleans. They set up a mini math playground with some of our models and gave away about
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Supergames by Ivan Moscovitch is a super fun book. This puzzle was a puzzle to convert to CAD, until intern Quan Nguyen and I realized that the “missing square” might be the same as the other missing square puzzles. In fact it is exactly the same. You may be able to see it looking at the solution blocks below. Corel,
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These are really fun! This design could possibly be improved but it does work pretty well. The newest version files are here in AI, SVG and Corel formats. It’s a pretty simple design. Here are the parts. Basically a larger square overhangs the smaller creating a channel with partial cover that the little “cars” can slide in, but not pop
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This puzzle is available to buy various places, but you can also just make your own. We colored the wood with Bingo daubers! MH Intern Quan Nguyen worked out a number of solutions and made the CAD file for this one. Our files are available to use: in AI, SVG and CorelDraw Formats There’s also a handout that can be laminated
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The Reuleaux Car The pieces are below, and an AI, SVG, and Corel File are available here. The file has a laser etch on the big wheel to guide the placement of the smaller piece. Glue two small pieces to one side and two large ones on the other side. The wheel holders work by sliding so you can install
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This one is easy fun and somehow a little bit magical. Makes a great little math gift. The challenge is to make rectangles with pieces #1-5, #1-6, #1-7, and #1-8 (as below) Details, Instructions and Template Here. Here are the “versions” in a short video. These pieces are made in relation to eachother so there are many versions
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Teachers enjoy models and making and they take that enthusiasm and activity back to their students. Hosted by Professor Jennifer Austin of University of Texas at Austin, this was a particularly fun meeting. We discussed how we make these models – see MAA Horizon Do the Math Article , tried using paper templates and slicing into playdoh. See Take and
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We love to come out to this museum! Its side garden is home to one of our first outdoor installations, the Pythagorean Tables. Together they represent the 3-4 -5 triangle classic, but also each table tells a math story of its own. The 3 x 3 is a Penrose Stair, the 4 x 4 is subdivided to 8 x 8
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Turns out you can use CorelDraw to reverse engineer the parts to a conic section model. Read all about it in the November 2021 MAA Math Horizons page called Do The Math (p. 29). Editor Tom Edgar was fun to work with, and made the graphic images. Note: if you are “making” this model from scratch, once you find the
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Why does this project NEVER turn out? It happens that we have been missing a critical fact. The arm of the linkage is NOT the same length as the radius (k) of the larger reference circle used for the inversion even though we wanted it to be. The workshop is littered with failed tries. The arm length and the sides
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