Last January, I confessed to being green with envy that New York City was getting a Museum of Mathematics. Â My jealousy has slightly abated only because some of the resources are accessible online. Â One of those resources is a partnership the museum is doing with Make magazine called, “Math Mondays.” Â If you are excited by activities like “The Global Cardboard Challenge” or shows like “Design Squad” and “Sylvia’s Super-Awesome Maker Show,” then you may enjoy the integration of math into making that is featured here. Â (By the way, I now have a Pinterest Board for “Make” resources here.) Here are a few of the neat projects your students might want to attempt:
I am so jealous of New York City.  They just acquired one more museum, and I’m pretty sure it would be a great destination for a field trip.  The Museum of Mathematics opened in December of 2012.  In this article by Bob Minzesheimer of USA TODAY, it is described as ‘”a kind of playground” and a “work of theater” that plays with geometry, art and algorithms,” according to Tim Nissen, its designer and architect.  Why do we need a Museum of Mathematics in this world?  You can check out this video on USA TODAY’s site in which the director gives 5 reasons for this $15 million project.  If you are like me, and do not live close enough to visit, you can at least enjoy some of the hands-on activities provided on its website.
Reading about this museum inspired me to challenge my 4th grade Gifted and Talented students, who have been studying mathematical masterpieces, to design their own math museums. Â They gleefully took on this project, and I am enjoying some of their ideas. Â Below you can see a couple of examples of what they have done so far. Â They are still in the beginning stages, so try not to judge their spelling!
(You will note the mention of “Vi Hart” in both of the examples. Â My students are very impressed with her videos. Â I realized, today, that I haven’t posted about them on this blog, so I will probably do a post about them tomorrow.)
