This unedited informal report filed by Ayesha Qadri on the work she and Aminadab Morales are doing independently this month shows their initiative in brainstorming ideas for upcoming events, making prototypes at the laser workshop, and testing materials in the field. They are also problem solving, communicating with site managers, interacting with Nature and Science Center visitors and documenting their work in pictures and text.

Saturday 30th: I just wanted to update you on what Aminadab and I have been doing so far for MathHappens. This past Saturday, we went to the ASNC and had a pretty good turnout for a Saturday. There were two very enthusiastic kids and we gave our first two spiral necklaces to them and took their pictures.

Aminadab got to try out the calipers on a couple of adults’ arms and it worked on them and they were impressed! He still figuring out how he want to make the marks on the piece of wood.

I also got to try out the original Sierpinski’s triangle with the colored pieces. We had one kid try that out and she liked it alot. It was a bit challenging and we reminded her a few times of the rule: All triangles have to be facing downwards. Then she pretty much got the hang of it. I have some pictures that I have attached from our visit to this email.

Monday 1st: Yesterday, Aminadab and I went to the Austin Zoo. (And I was too amazed!) We toured the entire zoo and the only math activity we could think of was some sort of scavenger hunt. Probably one related with the facts on the cages of the animals, specifically those facts with numbers. I was thinking of making a math problem worksheet sort of thing.

There’s different problem solving they will have to do with each question to get the number (ex. it says that the lions can jump up to 36 feet. A math problem can be given where the answer is 36. And then we have a characteristic specific to the animal so the students know where they can go around and then find the correct fact on the animal’s cage and move on with the worksheet.)

Today: We went to two places. First, we went to the Sustainable Food Center. I had gone there on Tuesday of last week as well but the person in contact, Liz, was not available and so I just came back. Today, the same thing happened: Liz was not at the center. Hopefully she is next time we go and visit. I will email her tomorrow and set up a time where she can meet with us there and give us a tour, etc.

Second, we went to the Bob Bullock Museum, which is amazing! We did not have to pay for a ticket so that was nice. We were having trouble coming up with a potential math activity at the museum. A lot of it is historical artifacts and documents relating to the History of Texas. The only thing we could think of was approximating the distance from one place to another inside the museum. It’s a new idea, but I’ll email you more when I work more on it.

This Thursday, Aminadab and I both have laser sessions. We will be going to those. Friday we were thinking of trying some other partnership place out, and on Saturday we planned on visiting the ASNC.

Will let you know more as the week goes by. Take care!

Sincerely,
Ayesha Qadri
The University of Texas at Austin