math - Fractal Kitty (Page 5)

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math

A collection of 137 posts

a sunflower spiral pattern made with stickynotes

Miscellaneous - interviews, ideas, and more

Sticky Note Sunflower

What you are seeing is a growth pattern of sticky notes that uses the Golden Angle (137.5 degrees) and then slowly decreases. This angle is commonly found in the plants all around us because it is an optimal angle for growth. It was a lot of fun playing with the growth angle while creating memorizin

a strange attractor drawn like silk with turquoise lines and dots

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

a hyperbolic yarn lovey with yellows greens and blues

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 […]

yarn rolling on, then off an impossible triangle

Isometric Yarn GIF

I am working on my GIF skills… Maybe a 52-weeks of hands-on math idea for next week.

a kitty with a cape and a kitty with a mask figuring out which is better to run with

Unbiased Trade Study (DAR)

No weights were used, the only stakeholder in the process was Kitty, and scores need not be normalized. CMMI Level 5 not achieved… INCOSE engineers may have given an eyeroll…

a scattering of kirigami on a table of many colors

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 […]

a gif of a flipping origami piece

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.

4 shapes with the same angles (drawn on isometric paper)

Isometric Drawing (Class Video)

After teaching this a few times this week, I created a video so those that may want to pause and draw at their own pace while playing with isometric paper. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I love doodling on Isometric paper – enjoy! Here is a link to the isometric […]

a fantasy map with many buildings, a dragon, mountains and sea-snake narwhal

Fantasy Map Drawing Video Post from This Week’s classes

This is a post for my students on fantasy map drawing from our virtual classes this week. The video was too long for youtube, so hopefully you can all grab it here. This isn’t pro-video content (so forgive my “ums” and roughness). It is intended to allow students to pause and go at their own […]

a kitty scratching on an impossible shape

Kitty designs isometric scratch tower to annoy perfectionists.

paper torn with ink showing a person walking toward the sun

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 31: Angle Inquiry

Sometimes the simplest things have wonder hidden within. This week, learners can play with the angles of polygons. How many degrees are in a triangle? In a quadrilateral? In a hexagon? Is there a pattern? Here is a warm-up activity: Draw a triangle (any triangle), and cut it out. Next,

a magpie (corvid) with tag 19 and a map with red dots

Kitty is dumbfounded as to why a bird map causes panic…

With mom in chemo and sitting in the hospital 2-4 times a week lately, we have found the lack of access to masks and all the craziness a bit much. Humor is how we cope.

a rough sketch of a board game

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 29: Design a Game

This week, learners can brainstorm game ideas and test them out with family and friends. Games can be prototyped with paper, clay, cardboard, maker equipment, and/or craft supplies. When I do this with classes, we often play or analyze games that we love prior to designing our own. This

a box that says dead or alive? with a cat pawing at it and a thought bubble showing the box and whisker with not whiskers

Fractal Kitty Investigates: Box and Whiskers

radioactive halflive plots of how its effects might apply to a cats nine lives through the door titled nuclear medicine

Half-life effects on nine lives?

a comic showing the math of how bushtits explode with they hit critical mass on the feeder

Kitty Counts Birds – Critical Mass

a laser cut black circle with smaller turquoise circles laid on top to make a gasket

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 28: Apollonian Gaskets

Apollonian Gaskets are a creative way to play with circles, fractals, and mindfulness in math. Students can cut out circles and place them within circles or practice their drafting skills with a compass and ruler. The idea is to draw a large circle and then fit smaller and smaller circles

a cat running with a watch while thinking about instantaneous speed and delta t

Kitty’s deep thoughts while running…

music with the pisano period harmonies of mod 12 and 24

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 26: Musical Math

You don’t have to be a musician to play with music and math. This week, I encourage learners to experiment with sound and patterns. Below is a list of ideas to experiment with: 1. Create a rhythm as an individual or a class that follows a sequence and build

kitty with yarn and knot diagrams

Good Gordian! – Knotty Kitty

A cat at a whiteboard with a curve and the integrals of the curve showing the tension and impulse of a plot

Kitty Teaches Literature

an abstract pastel drawing with math elements of spirals a broken octahedron

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 24: Pastel Diagrams and Plots

Sometimes, math diagrams, plots, and examples can be a little dry in our books and on the board. This week, learners will be taking a diagram or plot that they want to improve upon and sketch it up with pastels, paints, or other media. Color, composition, and artistic embellishments can

a kitty playing cards with the probability formula explaining that cards aren't counted - just remembered

Kitty Doesn’t Count Cards…

a laser cut rotation tessellation made with black and red tiles

Have you Tessellated today? Rotational Play

I posted on translating tessellations yesterday, and ended up playing with a rotational tessellation on my ipad. I had to laser print it of course and see all the various patterns. I love math!

diamonds of 3 colors placed to make what appears to be a stack of cubes

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 21: Hexagon Tessellations

I love tessellating! This week, we are playing with hexagons. Learners can either draw or cut various hexagonal designs with various colors. It is fun to see what secondary patterns can occur. Do other polygons tessellate? This is a wonderful activity to practice mindfulness and presence as you play with

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Sophia

Mathematics educator and creative coder exploring the beauty of mathematical concepts through interactive visualizations and playful learning.

Mathematics

Education

Creative Coding