Here are two brilliant ways of using maths to create something awesome. Firstly, using fantubes, you can build a chair.
You would have to work out how many fantubes you need. Measure up a standard armchair and then divide the width and depth by the diameter of the fantube.
Or you could just count the number of fantubes in this picture. More info here. Then – this is the PR bit – invite the School Principal into Maths Class to sit on the chair. Will your principal have faith? Or chicken out?
Secondly you could make this folding cardboard chair.
Here are some amaaaazing cardboard creations by bartek elsner.
But the creation that is so beautifully geometric is this crow.
Start here ……………
Before we get to crow level we better start with something more symmetrical. Here are some cardboard diamonds. You will find the template for the cardboard diamond below at Minieco.
It all begins with a dodecahedron. You can make your own dodecadren with pattern here.
How big can you make your dodecaderon?
But wait … there’s more
This is a Stellated Dodecahedron. Tricky. Tricky Tricky. You can find a template for this amazing Stellated dodecahedron here. Yes! You can build your own DEATH STAR. DA-da Da! (Creepy Music)
There are some wonderful projects at Mathscraft. But one students of any age will enjoy is creating an orderly tangle of triangles below. You can find a PDF template download for thise triangles @ the Mathscraft link above.
And this Orderly Tangle of 4 Triangles can be made on any scale from cute earrings to ORDERLY MONSTER TANGLE. Go wild mathspiggies.
Skills: Geometry, polygons, measurement …. and creativity.
Levels: Junior School & Middle School
In this activity students will create their own, preferably life-sized cardboard igloo. Igloo structures can be complicated or simple and in this project students must design and then build an igloo using a standard hexagon. Here are some inspiring designs.
The first igloo was built using computer generated constructive geometry. It uses a basic – but distorted – hexagonal cardboard unit and was built by by the students of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto. You can see the construction method below. More info here.
The next cardboard igloo is based entirely on circles. It was designed by students of ETH Zurich in Switzerland. More info here.
The following cardboard igloo based on triangles looks simple but has a very strong construction. More info here.
But the Granddaddy of the geometric or geodesic dome was Buckminster Fuller, who has been honoured by having a carbon-based nano-molecule named after him. They’re called Bucky Balls. If you look at the geodesic dome below you can see the HEXAGONAL PATTERN also visible int he Bucky Balls.
Skills: Geometry, measurement, polyhedrons, symmetry and creativity
Year Level: Year 7-9
Ask students to design and make a GEOMTRIC FASHION STATEMENT. This could involve a dress, hat or hair. Then they stage run a MATHS FASHION parade. The point is the fashion statement must involve specific maths such as geometry or trigonometry, calculus, quadratic equations … any maths you like.
Here from Lancia Trend Visions is the work of Amila Hrustic, a fashion design student in Sarajevo. These samples come from her “Plato’s Collection” inspired by the idea of Platonic solids. Her collection includes dress based on tetrahedrons, cubes, octahedrons, dodecahedrons, icosahedrons.
Skills:Geometry, measurement, cylinders, area, symmetry and creativity.
Year Level: Year 4 – whatever
Ask students to build their own cardboard armour and helmet. Give prizes in the category of Scariest, most Mathematically-Complex, Star Wars Potential, Most Historical, Most Creative and any other category that crops up. You can source cardboard from your nearest Self-Storage Warehouse.
Mathspig was at Womadelaide Music Festival 2013 and saw the Box Wars at work. The Box Wars guys, Joss, Josh and Hoss, started in Melbourne and now travel to Music Festivals around Australia. Boxwars builds sculptures, armour, props and sets and airplanes , tanks, cannons and the rest.
They stage battles of destruction … but destruction isn’t always the outcome.
If you want to interest kids especially boys 8 – 12 years of age in maths, get them building armour.
Mathspig saw dozens of them at WOMAD and they so loved their armour they wouldn’t take it off in 39Cº.
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Sometimes it is just lots and lots of fun. Here is a recently staged BOX WARS in Canberra. You only need watch a few minutes of the video to get the idea.
Mathspig is soooooo excited. Melbourne singer, song writer and geometrically inclined performer Gotye performing with Kimbra won 3 Grammy Awards with last week for his song Somebody that I used to Know.
Here is Mathspig take on the song:
According to The Australian as of last Tuesday Gotye you tube clip had 375 million hits since it was first uploaded 5th July 2011.
Mini Rates Exercise:
In 18 months Somebody that I used ot know has scored 375 million hits. How many hits per minute?
(Ans: Assuming 30 days per month the no of hits per minute is 482)
Fun with Geometry Exercise:
Here’s Somebody that I used to know. Put on the music and do geometry especially triangles.
It’ll either help students do their exercises or work like Clockwork Orange and have them running screaming out of the room when they hear the first few notes.
