“Fractal Fascinations”
Thursday, August 28
Fractals are beautiful and mysterious objects with properties that defy the normal rules of geometry, often consisting of iterated, miniature versions of themselves. Learn about the most famous fractals and what makes them so unusual. Materials needed: pencil and paper and triangle graph paper (link to print graph paper will be provided). |
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“Luck, Magic, or Math?”
Tuesday, September 2
At first glance, the occurrence of an “unlikely” event might seem like luck… or magic. However, when this event occurs over and over, we have to look more closely. With a bit of math, we will see that some events, which might seem unlikely at first, have a higher probability than intuition would suggest. Learn how a clever magician can “read the minds” of an unsuspecting audience using a little knowledge of probability! Materials needed: pencil, paper, colored pens or markers (3 different colors), deck of playing cards, a single die, and printout of poems (to be provided). |
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“Tangram Teasers”
Wednesday, September 10
Exercise your mind and stretch your spatial reasoning while searching for solutions to fun tangram puzzles. Learn to create specific figures by combining seven polygons. If you get stuck, try another way! Discover multiple strategies to solve these classic dissection puzzles. Materials needed: scissors and printout to be provided |
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“Grids of Life”
Thursday, September 18
Join us to play the Game of Life, invented by John Conway and popularized by Martin Gardner. Widely known in the 1970s (particularly among the computing community), the Game of Life is an example of a cellular automaton (CA). Learn the rules, follow recipes, and use CA principles to generate surprising patterns. Explore simple cellular automata by creating your own infinite patterns! Materials needed: colored pencils or pens (two colors) and printouts to be provided. |
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“Math in the Corner Pocket”
Tuesday, September 23
Explore angles and the law of reflection while tracing the path of a billiard ball as it bounces off the walls of a pool table. Use patterns to discover a simple method to predict in which pocket the ball will land and learn how to prove that your prediction is correct. Game on! Materials needed: pencil, ruler, and graph paper (printout available). |
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“Play like a Mathematician: Hex“
Wednesday, October 1
An engaging, abstract strategy game, Hex was invented by mathematician and poet Piet Hein in 1942, rediscovered in 1948 by the mathematician John Nash, and popularized by Martin Gardner in 1957. The game is often played on Hex boards, but it can also be played on a floor that has hexagonal tiles! Join us for an online version and discover a winning strategy for this fun and challenging game. Materials needed: familiarity with the “Annotate” feature in Zoom is recommended. Printouts of Hex boards (during the session). |
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“Topological Tic-Tac-Toe”
Thursday, October 9
The familiar game of tic-tac-toe becomes fun and challenging when played on alternative topological surfaces. The typical 3×3 game board is enhanced by gluing pairs of opposite edges together in various ways, making for more interesting games and mind-bending playing spaces. Participants learn to appreciate the ins and outs of these new objects as they develop strategies to master the mathematically enhanced games. Materials needed: pencil and paper. |
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“Math in Art: Friezes”
Tuesday, October 14
Continuing in our Math in Art series is an introduction to mathematical symmetry and the seven patterns of friezes. Known for their decorative purposes and often enriched with carvings, these architectural elements have been known and used since antiquity. Materials needed: pencil, paper, colored pencils or markers (optional), and printouts to be provided. |
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“Chessboards and Dominoes”
Wednesday, October 22
What shapes can you fit together to cover a chessboard? Dominoes? Trominoes? Learn about mathematical proofs while exploring patterns of odd and even numbers and experimenting with real dominoes and chessboards. Materials needed: pencil and graph paper (printout available). Optional materials: chessboard, dominoes |
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“Gallery of Graphs”
Thursday, October 30
Dig into graph theory by exploring the connection between vertices and edges — and the walls of any house. Discover a method to determine whether a ghost can haunt a castle or if a figure can be drawn without lifting the pen. Explore how these two problems are related and learn what they have to do with bridges in 18th-century Prussia, all while enjoying a unique and accessible introduction to this sophisticated branch of mathematics. Materials needed: pencil, paper, and colored pens or markers (4 colors). |
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“Skipping Towards Infinity”
Tuesday, November 4
Is it possible to add infinitely many things and end up with a single finite number? Sometimes, but the arithmetic of infinity obeys its own strange rules. Achilles and the Tortoise never quite mastered them! Explore this classic paradox and other surprising results that arise when considering the mathematics of infinity. Materials needed: pencil, paper (at least 3 sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper), and calculator (optional). |
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“Math in Art: Tessellations”
Wednesday, November 12
Discover the wonderful world of tessellations! Explore how geometric shapes can completely cover a plane with no gaps or overlaps and discover where tessellations appear: in nature, in ancient Roman mosaics, in Islamic art and architecture, in quilting patterns, and in the works of modern artists such as M.C. Escher. Join us to build your own tessellations with regular polygons in this first offering in the Math in Art series. Materials needed: pencil, paper, scissors, and printout to be provided. |
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“Möbius Mischief”
Monday, November 24
Participants construct fascinating topological objects such as Möbius bands, discovering their fundamental patterns and structures. Hands-on activities lead participants to discover the surprising properties hidden in these surfaces! Materials needed: 4 strips of paper (2 inches by 11 inches), scissors, tape, and two different colored pens (or pencils or markers). |
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“Hands and Minds”
Tuesday, December 2
Through two entertaining and intriguing mathematical puzzles, learn about knot theory, recursive algorithms, and proofs of induction. Have fun while challenging not only your mind but also your hands! Materials needed: scissors, glue or tape, 3 sheets of colored paper (different colors), plus a printout to be provided. |
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“Polyomino Puzzlers”
Wednesday, December 10
You’ve heard of dominoes, but have you ever heard of trominoes, tetrominoes, or pentominoes? Discover the many surprising shapes you can create simply by combining single-size squares and explore various types of symmetry using these unique objects. Materials needed: printout to be provided, pencil, and colored pen (or marker). Optional materials: scissors and tape. |
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“Play like a Mathematician: Game, SET, Math”
Thursday, December 18
Based on set theory and combinatorics, SET is a fast-paced card game where players race to identify sets of three cards that follow specific rules. Join us to play a few rounds of SET where, in order to win, you will be challenged to recognize many fun patterns! Materials needed: SET card game (optional). |
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“Dynamic Dice”
Tuesday, December 23
What are the odds of rolling a given sum with a pair of standard dice? Explore how to determine the probability, then challenge yourself to find a different way to number the dice to get the very same probabilities. Come roll the dice! Materials needed: pencil and paper |
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“Rep-tiles”
Wednesday, December 31
Come discover mathematical rep-tiles, geometric shapes that can tile into repetitions of themselves. Learn about scaling, special tessellations, and mathematical proofs, while solving fun rep-tiles puzzles. Materials needed: pencil, paper, printouts to be provided, and scissors (to cut out shapes prior to session) |
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