Professional Development: Bullock Field Trip and Workshop Visit

Lauren SiegelField Trips, History Connections, Intern Experience, Making Math, Museum, Teacher Support & Training, We think math is fun!Leave a Comment

We had a great visit to the Pearl Street workshop and gallery today by professor Dawn Kidd, an Adjunct Instructor at Lamar University.  Her students are preservice teachers who will be teaching deaf and hard of hearing students.  They started with a workshop visit with Jordan where they learned how to make a heart – square- circle dissection model.  Ella

Teacher PD: Field Trip to the La Belle Exhibit

Lauren SiegelField Trips, History Connections, Math Field Trips, Museum, Partner Spotlight, Teacher Support & TrainingLeave a Comment

We are excited to share the MathHappens @ The Bullock field trip collaboration with a cross disciplinary  (history and mathematics) teacher team from Killeen ISD.  As a history museum and home to La Belle, a French ship that sailed across the Atlantic in the 1600s landing in Matagora Bay off the Texas coast, The Bullock is a perfect place to

Partner Spotlight: Workshop visit with Kim Kinder from Cuba, MO

Lauren SiegelMaking Math, Take and Make, Teacher Support & Training, We think math is fun!Leave a Comment

Kimberly Kinder is a high school math teacher who is really passionate about bringing new learning experiences for her students.  She drove 12 hours to come to Austin because she’s really interested in making some of the models we have and in making her own. We are really excited about supporting her work. Kimberly not only selected some models and

Take and Make: Tusi couple for a UT Perspectives Class

Lauren SiegelCommunity Partnerships, Making Math, Mathematical Artifacts, Take and Make, Teacher Support & Training, We think math is fun!Leave a Comment

The Tusi couple is a mathematical device in which a small circle rotates inside a larger circle twice the diameter of the smaller circle.  With this relationship of diameters, each point on the circumference of the smaller circle actually follows a linear path as the rotation occurs. Here’s a link to a video so you can see it in motion. Files to

Partnerships: JRMF and Breakthrough Central Texas

Lauren SiegelCommunity Partnerships, Sharing Ideas, Sponsoring Mathematics Projects, Teacher Support & Training, We think math is fun!Leave a Comment

A benefit to collaboration is the sharing of success.  As a provider of supplementary mathematics learning experiences, we have been in contact with Breakthrough Central Texas, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary for many years.  This past year we were able to connect them with Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival Director Daniel Kline who provided opportunities for staff training and previews of

Maker Math for Educators–Article Published!

Lauren SiegelMedia, Sharing Ideas, Teacher Support & Training, We think math is fun!Leave a Comment

Congratulations to Jason Harron, professor at Kennesaw State University and colleagues for publishing a paper based on an inservice teacher workshop called Maker Math: Exploring Mathematics through Digitally Fabricated Tools with K–12 In-Service Teachers. MathHappens Foundation provided many but not all of the models used in the workshop and discussed in the article and we really appreciate the author credit.  Jason is

An Interactive Cross Disciplinary Mathematics Museum for Austin!

Lauren SiegelCommunity Partnerships, Museum, Teacher Support & Training, Ways to like math, We think math is fun!3 Comments

Let’s continue the tradition of service to education, support our students and learners of all ages in mathematics by offering  free learning resources to the Austin community, support cross disciplinary programs, create and use hands on interactive models. A great opportunity is on the table. The Pease School opened in 1876 and served Austin as an elementary school for 144

Crafting Conic Sections with MTCA – Dec. 2 Math Teacher’s Circle of Austin

Lauren SiegelCommunity Partnerships, Making Math, Take and Make, Teacher Support & Training, We think math is fun!Leave a Comment

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

Take and Make: Homeschool Day at the Austin Zoo 2021

Lauren SiegelMaking Math, Take and Make, Teacher Support & Training, We think math is fun!Leave a Comment

Happy Homeschool Day at the Austin Zoo! It’s going to be 80 degrees and sunny, a great day for learning outdoors.  We will be there featuring our geometry kits.  But we are bringing other great projects too with examples with instructions.  The event is preregister only, but you can make these great math projects anytime. Template Folder Here.   Beside to

Take and Make: Napier’s Bones Calculator

Paola GarciaCommunity Partnerships, History Connections, Library, Making Math, Math at Home, Mathematical Artifacts, Take and Make, Teacher Support & Training1 Comment

Napier’s Bones are a manually operated calculator created by John Napier in 1612. This calculator is based on Lattice Multiplication and helps math learners with multiplying large numbers by a single digit number.  Math learners! Start identifying multiplication patterns by making your own set of Napier’s Bones! Materials: Napier’s Bones Paper Template: https://tinyurl.com/rh5xdajt Writing utensil (pencil or pen) Popsicle sticks