Adams 12 GT Parent's Group Super Saturday

A video from Adams 12 Gifted and Talented Super Saturday
Can you find me?
http://vimeo.com/111933575

Winter break activity: Build a geodesic dome from plastic straws for kids

Materials:

• Straws ( got mine at a grocery store)
• Mini brads
• Paper punch (about 1/16" diameter)
• Ruler
• Scissors

Topic:

• How to calculate a triangle if you know the angle and one of the length? If your students are high school, you can use trigonometry. 
• Triangle is the strongest and more economical shape. Talk about angles in a triangle
• Constraints. My straw length is about 7". The longest straw should be no longer than the material.

Activity:
If you have a middle schooler, you can relate this with trigonometry. For this activity, I have a "cheat sheet" from youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1ZLoQc0ay0
 If the outside of pentagon = N, the R for the pentagon is Nx0.8696 or Nx1.0224 for hexagon.

If the longest straw is 5.5" = N, the r for pentagon is a 5.5"x0.8686 = 4.78"

Cut straws to 2 sizes:
Green: 5.5" ( about 35 pieces)
Blue: 4.75" ( about 30 pieces )
Hole punch both ends and connects it with brads.

Starts by making a big circle using 10 green straws

Connect them with blue straws. Add vertical blue straws on the middle of the blue pentagon. Connect the top of the blue straws with green straws to make this shape

 Then connect horizontal lines using green straws. Then add the vertical blue straws as pictured.

Connect the last brad.
You made a model from straw. Want to be more creative? Instead of straw, try using rolled newspaper... See how big it can get. 

IDEA It Lab: Hands-on activities for little engineers - Fibonacci numbers

Topic: Applying math - Fibonacci numbers can be found in daily life.
Architects use Fibonacci numbers and Golden Ratio as tools to measure beauty. When they design a building, they would consider the proportion and measurements according to Golden Ratio, 1.618
It is amazing to find this ratio in nature.

Video to view: Nature By Numbers
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkGeOWYOFoA

Activities: Observe the world around you. See if there is any proportion or shape even color that caught your eyes. See if you can find a certain ratio on the object you are observing.

Object from my childhood that interested and influenced me

I remember my dad gave me wooden blocks toys. It's somewhat similar to the picture attached where I can build and make something. I think I can still "feel" the shape and the texture in my hand. I enjoy the process of building something. It's probably not always come up as I was planning but it's still interesting.

Today, I got my bachelor degree in architectural engineering but never really practice it. As a mom, I enjoy going to art fairs, museums and travel to new places. Sometimes, I have a burst of ideas ( need to write it down quickly). I enjoy putting together creative programs and I still play with wooden blocks I bought for my daughter.