Visitors today created a butterfly puzzle that can stay at the ANSC. Each one made a butterfly piece and together they are a tribute to famous mathematician Marjorie Rice’s work on the tessellating pentagon problem. Its a great way to end our summer series! See you next summer!
Saturdays with MathHappens at the Austin Nature and Science Center: Golden Ratio
To build on the exhibit already in place at the Austin Nature and Science Center, visitors were able to stop by our table and make their own golden ratio calipers. Alongside this activity, guests were given the opportunity to color in their own golden ratio spiral, which could then be made into a necklace. This ratio (1: 1.618…) is present
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Saturdays with MathHappens at the Austin Nature and Science Center: Fibonacci Bees
Visitors learn about the Fibonacci Sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8…) and how it relates to bee genetics. The visitors center has an actual beehive in the entryway. Visitors could color in their own bee. The bee family tree is etched on the back.
Saturdays with MathHappens at the Austin Nature and Science Center: Compass Rose
Visitors learn about Mercator maps and why the compass rose is important for navigation. There are four decorative compass roses on this map and numerous rhumb lines. Outside the visitors center is a human sunclock!
Saturdays with MathHappens @ Austin Nature and Science Center
Ben Duong presenting Curve Stitching! Straight lines make parabolas and conics! Favorite Quote: “I have to buy this! All three of my grandkids are totally quiet.”
Saturdays with MathHappens @ Austin Nature and Science Center
MathHappens is excited to announce that there will be math at the Austin Nature and Science Center every Saturday for Summer 2019 from 10 am to 2pm in the Visitor Center! Favorite Quote: “Kids, if you don’t finish at the math table soon you are going to miss out on the water park.”
TAG Field Trip Austin Nature and Science Center
This group surprised us! These 5th graders worked on a voronoi map, observed voronoi patterns in a microscope and on animals and participated in a lively discussion on cholera and epidemiology. When we got to the iPad demo of circles colliding one young man watching the patterns emerge from colliding circles said “this is so satisfying”. With overcast skies, we
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Nature Day at the Austin Nature and Science Center
Theme: Get Outside! We did some survival math, sunlight tracking and compass rose designs. You can find a straight line from West to East if you track the shadow of a stick and mark its top over time. Then you can find North and South and relate that to a compass rose on a map and find your way.
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Human Sunclock Looking Good!
Update: The Sunclock a fully integrated part of the Austin Nature and Science Center that was featured on this Oct 2020 Tiny Tour hosted by ANSC staff! The sunclock was installed as a collaboration between MathHappens and the Austin Nature and Science Center in Summer 2017. Exhibits Director Josh Ransom sent some wonderful progress pictures showing the improvements they are
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