We brought a Gunter Chain! The Gunter chain was invented in 1620 by the English clergyman and mathematician Edmund Gunter (1581–1626). It was designed to accurately survey plots of land by measuring distances, and with the standard chain being 66 feet (22 yards) long and consisting of 100 links its full of mathematical contraptions to make the measuring easier. Thursday April 30 and Friday May 1 were Pioneer Field Trip Days for students, parents and teachers at the Williamson County Museum:
Thursday:
499 students
200 parents
44 teachers45 staff/volunteers
Friday:
411 students
60 parents
35 teachers
44 staff/volunteers
Cultural contributions came from organizations and individuals with knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for farming, axe throwing, fire making, candle making, and more. At the historic schoolhouse kids learned about education on prairie. In our booth we learned about the early beginnings of Texas government, the General Land Office, the early land grants to Stephen F. Austin that happened when we were under Mexican rule and how they measured land using the Gunter Chain and the English system after winning the war of independence to become the Republic of Texas. Lauren Siegel, Andrea Portillo, McKenna Everett and Matt Hertel where comprised the MathHappens team.
We started by asking the kids about measurement. What kinds of things they measure, what tools they might us and what they would do without a tool. We covered measuring fruit, notebooks, people, time and more. Measuring time by singing a song works well when you are washing your hands, not so well when brushing your teeth. Rulers are great for short distances, but you’d rather a tape measure for something bigger. But how are we to measure the really big things like the big shed we were all squashed in because of the rain, or the even bigger parcels of land needed to farm or ranch cattle.
We played a conversation game where the kids could “apply for jobs” at the survey office. The scenarios are based on information sent to us by the General Land Office. Ways to work for the survey office include walking half a day, counting rotations of a carriage wheel by tying a handkerchief on a spoke, and riding a donkey for 3 cigarettes worth of time (about an hour). A fourth way is to deploy a horse trained to pace in Vara (the Mexican standard of measure for land). You can find our conversation cards that we made based on this information here. Print them and put on wood “cards” or cardstock. Its a fun way to convey this information while engaging with small groups in a public setting. Because we were inside on a rainy day we adapted it to work for about 15 groups of 2nd – 5th graders over 2 days. Participants select a card and we go through the scenario. And we shared this famous photo of a Texas survey crew. We picked up our Gunter Chain in a bundle and asked the kids to find it in the photo (its on the far left).
Now with the job clearly in mind, and the connection to our coworkers made via the chain, we un-wound our real Gunter chain and let the kids find the copper tabs that mark every 10th link. Ours is a well made 1/2 chain that can be safely handled and offers the opportunity to stretch it to its 33 foot length and look for the “secret code”. This age of student had a really good time finding the tabs and then counting links to figure out what they mean. You can see the chain in McKenna’s left hand, in the left photo and out in the hands of the kids on the right.
If we had time we tried out the Vara square and found out that about 9 kids can fit! (no photo). The information on the posters was mostly lost on the younger kids, but a few intrepid homeschoolers were on hand to ask some interesting questions about water access and mixed units (Vara, leagues, acres and feet) you can find on those maps.
And we also have a poster with some information about chains, land grants and the two systems of measurement. Also worth mentioning, the University of Texas is called “The Forty Acres” because originally it was a 1/4 mile by 1/4 mile which is 20 chains by 20 chains which is 400 square chains which is 40 acres. If you walk around the four sides of 40 acres, you’ve walked a mile. Also, 80 chains is a mile, 80 x 80 is 6400 square chains or 640 acres, a common size for a land grant by the Republic of Texas.
