Math Scavenger Hunt Nov 8, Enlightening Symbols, Make Thinky the Dragon: Newsletter November 4

Posted on November 3, 2014 by

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Hello from Natural Math! Send us your questions, comments, and stories of math adventures at moby@moebiusnoodles.com

In this newsletter:

Join Math Scavenger Hunt on Saturday November 8
Enlightening Symbols: learn about history and culture in an online Math Future event with the author Joseph Mazur on Wednesday November 5
Make it: Thinky the Dragon optical illusion

Join us for a mathematical scavenger hunt through art and nature

If you live near Cary, NC, join us on Saturday November 8, from 10 AM to noon as we explore the many dimensions of art and nature. This is a great opportunity to connect math to the world around you. We suggest you RSVP for this event by emailing cva@caryvisualart.org

If you don’t live near Cary, but would love to help us organize a math scavenger hunt in your area, drop us a line!

Is it for adults only?

Not at all! Our scavenger hunts are open to all ages. No prior knowledge of specific math concepts is required.

How much does it cost?

The event is free. It is a part of the Year of Sculpture initiative by the Cary Visual Art council.

What will it be like?

Check out this short video from one of our previous Math Treks. (That’s what we call our math scavenger hunts.)

For this Trek, meet us on the green in front of the Cary Arts Center to pick up your Math Trek card. It will have all the clues you need to successfully complete the Trek. Walk around Downtown Cary, enjoy this year’s sculptures, notice beautiful math, and take pictures of your finds. Come back to the green and try our hands-on activities for all ages.

Will I be able to complete the challenges if I am not a math whiz?

Absolutely! There are many answers to each clue and no prior knowledge of math is required. Open-mindedness, creativity, and curiosity rule the day! Check out a few sample clues from this Trek:

Art by Mary Jo Hoffman, Eric Troffkin, and Tom Friedman.

Will there be prizes?

Complete the challenges, e-mail us your photos, and be entered into a drawing to win a copy of our book, Moebius Noodles: Adventurous Math for the Playground Crowd.

How can I volunteer for this event?

We are so happy you’ve asked! You can volunteer at our math craft table or help us lead the tours. Email us at moby@moebiusnoodles.com

Learn about the history of math symbols at our upcoming Math Future online talk with the author Joseph Mazur

Hardly any math symbols were used before the sixteenth century. What did mathematicians rely on for their work before then? And how did mathematical notations evolve into what we know of today? Enlightening Symbols explains the fascinating history behind the development of our current mathematical notation system, shows how symbols were used initially, how one symbol replaced another over time, and how written math was conveyed before and after symbols became widely adopted.

On Wednesday, November 5 at 12pm EST, join us for the open, free online event in the Math Future series. Dr. Joseph Mazur will talk about his new book, Enlightening Symbols. Come and listen to a short presentation, chat with like-minded people in the audience, and ask Joseph questions.

https://naturalmath.com/math-future-event-registration/

Math Maker Corner

As soon as we saw this Thinky the Dragon video, we wanted to make one (or more) of these cuties ourselves. And you can too, by downloading and printing a free template with instructions from ThinkFun. How is this “hollow face” optical illusion mathematical? Watch this video to find out!