math and art

A collection of 35 posts

Math Birds

Microcosm Oystercatchers

Here is another bird in the series – Microcosm Oystercatchers. These are one of my favorite birds. I often see them in the black basalt cobbles on the coast with their fluorescent beaks. I had a hard time with where I wanted to go with this piece initially and went back to gaskets (something I […]

Math Birds

Pacific Lune

Another bird in the series! This one is a little luney. The lunes of Alhazen have the same area as the triangle. Note: Image was updated from the original post to fix an error

coding

Mod Fibonacci

Finite Melodies for an Infinite Sequence A few years ago I asked myself how I could play the Fibonacci sequence on the piano. I found that if I divided the Fibonacci sequence by the number of keys I wished to play, I got a set of numbers that would infinitely repeat. I tested this observation […]

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 52: Math Rocks!

For week 52 of 52 Weeks of Hands-On Math, I couldn’t resist a play on words: Math rocks! This week I encourage learners to share their math in the neighborhood. Create sidewalk chalk art with Fibonacci hopscotch, paint a math rock garden, make a math obstacle course by your home, or have a piece of

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 51: Block Prints

I love thinking of mirror images when I am block printing. I will never forget the time I printed SPARK backwards on accident for a summer art camp and my kids laughed at the reverse phonics. This week I encourage learners to take a math concept, tessellation, or shape and create a print. Ways to […

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 50: Flip Books

This week I encourage learners to play with their animation skills. Take a math concept, problem, or design and play with ideas to animate it. Start simple to warm up and then build on the ideas. Flip books are fun. I recommend using thinner paper that can be seen through so it is easier to […]

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 49: Pendulum Labs

Pendulums are wonderful physics toys that are great for exploring periodic functions. For week 49, I encourage learners to get out some string, weights, and stop watches. Here are some ideas for playing with math and pendulums: Start with a string and a weight to observe basic pendulum motion. Nuts,

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 48: Bubbles!

Pipe cleaners have so many uses and one of the best ways to use them is to make bubbles. This week I encourage learners to build mathematical structures with pipe cleaners, straws, string, or other waterproof toys to create beautiful structures. I used Zometools in some of my classes as well, and th

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 47: Math Dance

Get up and move! This week learners can dance their favorite equations, math symbols and concepts. Whatever topic is of interest or in the process of being learned is a great one to figure out the dance moves that go with it. I recommend taking 5 to 10 of your favorite moves and making it […]

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 46: Half-Square Triangles (Truchet Tiles)

If you are a quilter, then you will be a pro with this week’s activity. For the last six months my quilting mother lived with us through chemo and we watched her quilt her heart out. Now that she moved back to her home, I had to laugh because she would have been so much […]

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 45: The Quincunx

This week learners can dive into probability through a quincunx (also known as a Bean Machine). Learners can make bean machines with building toys (Legos), pins and a cork board, or nails and wood (or other methods they devise (3d-printing, sculpture, etc)). Here is a template to use.(It’s a png and

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 44: Conics, Orbits, and Projectile Motion

You don’t have to be in high school math to play with conics, orbits, and projectile motion. This week (or month) learners can play with projectile motion, orbits, and conics sections with the activities below: 1.) Slicing cones Learners can mold cones with clay and slice to see the possible shapes.

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 43: Circles and Art

Circles are so much fun! This week I encourage learners to get out their compasses or a circle to trace and start making patterns on paper. Patterns with circles can start simple, but can also get really complex. You can combine your compass with a straight edge and get amazing patterns and tiles.

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 42: Perspective

Drawing with perspective is a wonderful way to play with ratios, similar triangles, transformations, and more in math. This week I encourage learners to try to draw with various perspectives. This is a fun activity for all ages and the math can either stay simple or dive into transformation matrices

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 41: Birdwatching

Birdwatching and math go hand-in-hand. There are statistics on populations, migrations, observations, and so much more. One of the ways to get in touch with nature is to become aware of the birds that frequent your home and walkabouts. Birdwatching gets us to access so many areas of our mathematical

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 40: Tensegrities

In math we find balance and equilibrium. We balance equations. We keep balance by using properties of identity (multiply by 1 or add zero), Properties of Equality (mirroring operations), and by using the many other ways to manipulate and play with structures in math. This week’s math is about equili

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 39: Toothpicks

A box of toothpicks can lead to an afternoon of entertainment. This week learners can play with the toothpick sequence. The sequence produces really interesting geometries and lines as it grows. I recommend watching Numberphile’s Youtube video on this sequence here. There is also OEIS’ website that

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 38: Knotty Math Tiles

I love playing with knots. Last year I designed a Knotty Math toy with wooden tiles. It is part of a series of toys I have been working on that help create single pointed mindfulness with math. These are for kids and adults alike. I think sand, clay, tiles, and tessellations can all be instruments [

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 37: Cantor Set Kirigami

For this week’s activity, learners can play with Cantor Set Kirigami. The Cantor Set is created by drawing a line. Next, remove the middle third of that line (this will create 2 lines). For each of the two lines just created, remove the middle third (this will create 4 lines). Continue with this pro

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 36: Golden Angle Scavenger Hunt and Drawing Phi-Nominal Phi-lowers

The Golden ratio appears in nature all around us. Flowers and other botanicals often grow at an optimal (Golden) angle of about 137.5 degrees. For the 52-weeks of math activity, I encourage learners to seek out the Golden angle on a scavenger hunt. Take pictures or sketch in a nature journal the pin

abstract

I’m Attracted to Attractors

So many plots and mathematical musings throughout my life have brought on a sense of artistic beauty and awe within my being. In the windowless halls of engineering firms I have smiled at harmonics, or in a homeschooling room squealed in glee when I stumbled upon Pisano periods by trying to play Fib

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 35: Yarn-it-up Hyperbolic Space

This week let’s play with yarn! We are going to play with hyperbolic space. You will need some yarn and a crochet hook. You don’t need to know how to crochet, but you will need a little patience and a lot of desire to play. These don’t have to be perfect, and “mistakes” just add […]

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 34: Kirigami

I love paper cutting, so last week I did kirigami with some of my classes. What was so fun about this activity is the amount of play and discovery that happened with two simple supplies (paper and scissors). Below are the videos I recorded for my classes to be able to go back and work […]

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 33: Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe

Games don’t have to be complicated to require some good thinking skills. We all learn tic-tac-toe when we are younger. We soon learn how to always come to a stalemate with an equal opponent. Once you get the strategy, it can get a little boring… But what if we add a layer (or two) of […]

Additional Materials

Flipping Origami Class Video

After teaching this a few times this week, I created a video for those that missed it or want to go back. We made two different origami toys that have some flipping fun. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.