Texas A & M University (TAMU) provides a robust math circle program for the community with approximately 50 student participants at three levels, Pre-Algebra, Algebra/Geometry and Algebra II and above.  We were pleased to be invited to provide the program on November 18, 2023.

We started with some free play that included a balance scale with base 2 and base 3 weights, puzzle a day, building a square root spiral, building a padovan spiral, fibonacci blocks, 21st Century Pattern blocks, equilateral tessellating pentagons and of course the new mono tiles (spectre tiles).

For the main program (see overview for details), we worked with the director to choose a topic: building proportional golden ratio calipers.  With three rotations, we built wood calipers, designed and built cardboard versions, calculated the golden ratio using the geometry of the pentagram (instead of golden rectangles), explored golden triangle tiles and investigated the relationship of the golden ratio to fibonacci numbers.

MathHappens staff included:  Stefany Espinoza, Jordan Varat, Jaiden Suta, Alexa Hernandez and Lauren Siegel

Building