2D – arbitrarilyclose

#MathArtChallenge 100: Balloon Polyhedra

In the first, allow me to thank each and every one of you who has participated in the #MathArtChallenge in the last few months. This is my “last” post. Meaning, I don’t promise to make more Math Art Challenges, but there’s always the chance that something will come up…

All of the #MathArtChallenge-s will continue to be up on this blog, and I really hope that you’ll make use of them in your classes or in your fun time or however brings you joy.

The Challenge: Today, you get Balloon Polyhedra. There’s actually several papers written about this, so go check them out.

Materials needed: Twisting balloons, pump, patience
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: angles, arithmetics, counting, geometry, graph theory, polygons, polyhedra, symmetry, vertices/intersections

#MathArtChallenge 99: Quilts & the Underground Railroad

A quilt containing 6 of the blocks mentioned below as having possibly been used as a code in the underground railroad.

The Challenge: Learn a bit about the code discussed below, and then have yourself or students create some or all of the quilt blocks discussed.

Materials needed: Certainly you can make these as actual quilt pieces. You can also just use a square piece of paper and work on construction within that using paper and pencil.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: angles, arithmetic, geometry, philosophy on math, polygons, symmetry, tessellations.

#MathArtChallenge 94: Twelvefold Islamic Geometric Rosette from Samira Mian

The Challenge: Make yourself a 12-fold Islamic Geometric Rosette.

Materials needed: Compass, straight edge, paper, pencil, colors
Math Concept: angles, circles, geometric construction, geometry, Islamic geometry, lines, polygons, symmetry, tessellations, vertices/intersections.

#MathArtChallenge 92: W.E.B. Du Bois Data Portraits

The Challenge: Following the style of W.E.B. Du Bois’ Data Portraits, update or create a graphic demonstrating current data. For example, below on the left is Du Bois’s portrait comparing Black and white occupations in 1890 and on the right is my recreation using the closest set of matching data I could find in 2018.

Materials Needed: Maybe graph paper, maybe simply regular paper and writing tools.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: Statistics

#MathArtChallenge 90: Sand Piles

The Challenge: Explore a toppling sand pile.

Materials Needed: Paper, pencil, and probably a good eraser. You could also do this using a whiteboard or other writing surface.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: algebra, arithmetic, counting, fractals, functions isometric, proportions/ratios

#MathArtChallenge 89: Voronoi diagrams

The Challenge: Throw some random points (or carefully selected ones!) on a plane. Identify the parts of the plane that are closest to each of those points.

Materials Needed: Paper, ruler, writing utensil.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: algebra, arithmetic, geometry, lines, proportions/ratios, slope, tessellations, vertices/intersections.

#MathArtChallenge 88: the Recamán Sequence

The Challenge: Create a visual (or audio?) of the Recamán sequence, created by a Colombian mathematician, Bernardo Recamán Santos (who seems to have very little biographical information out there??). I was first introduced through Alex Bellos and Edmund Harris’s book.

Materials Needed: Straight edge, maybe a compass, maybe a ruler. Paper, riting utensil.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: algebra, circles, counting, functions, proportions/ratios, randomness, sequences

#MathArtChallenge 86: Tla’amin Basket Weaving: Coding and Indigenous teaching

The Challenge: Play with the widget here to explore your own Tla’amin basket weaving patterns.

Materials Needed: The applet linked above.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: geometry, sequences, symmetry, tessellations

#MathArtChallenge 84: Tangrams

The Challenge: Get yourself a square of paper (or something else?) and cut yourself a set of tangrams. Then create away!

Materials Needed: Scissors, paper
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: angles, geometry, lines, polygons, proportions/ratios, symmetry, tessellations

#MathArtChallenge 83: African Fractals

Two different fractal images based on Ron Eglash’s study of fractals in African culture.

The Challenge: Create a self-repeating pattern – a fractal. You may choose your own design, or perhaps you recreate some of the ones from Ron Eglash’s survey studying the fractal formation of African villages. I did both of these looking at the applet at his website.

Materials Needed: paper and pencil, likely, but you can probably get more creative than that, too! Maybe using sculptural materials?
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: angles, fractals