For this month’s Muse of Nerds, I quickly grabbed onto the STEM to STEAM movement (adding ‘arts’ to the technical.) Creativity is the foundation for advancement in all fields. The arts — writing, music, art, theater and dance — paired with science, technology, engineering and math, foster a relationship between both sides of the brain […]
Continue ReadingLet it be said from the start: I’m a word girl, not a numbers girl. And I’m okay with that. My husband? He wishes I could crunch numbers a little more like him. I think the glassy-eyed, blank stares he gets when he starts talking numbers to me scare him just a little bit. I […]
Continue ReadingMath geek Vi Hart demonstrates the scientific and mathematical basis for sound, frequency, and pitch in this engaging video. Fascinating.
Continue ReadingSome time ago, I suddenly realised what would be my dream job: I’d like to be Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. After Voldemort’s fall, if possible. Or before his rise. I intend to keep the charge more than one year. Alas, it seems that few schools (if any) are looking for such a teacher, so […]
Continue ReadingPart of the reason I was never a brilliant math student had to do with the chasm of difference between how I was taught math and how I understood it. Art has always been ‘my thing’ so in spite of all my math teachers’ best efforts to learn by the book, I inevitably accessed the […]
Continue ReadingPhilosopher turned astro-physicist Janna Levin thinks a lot about the origins of the universe. She’s written a non-fiction book, How the Universe Got Its Spots, in which she contemplates whether or not the universe is finite or infinite, or if indeed our universe is one in a multiverse. Janna Levin, mother of two young children, […]
Continue ReadingDid you count thirteen petals on the Black-Eyed-Susan? It’s fun for kids to count petals on blooming flowers “springing” out of the ground. It’s also a lesson in higher math. Last week I attended the NSTA Conference in San Francisco where I met Sarah C. Campbell, author of the picture book Growing Patterns. Sarah presented […]
Continue ReadingTwo years ago our family recognized Pi Day for the very first time. At exactly 1:59 p.m on March 14th my son received the decision on his application for admission to the the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His response when he logged on to read the letter: “I GOT IN!” It was a sweet […]
Continue ReadingHands-on projects are great learning tools for kids, especially when they involve the word ‘secret’. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Pi Day (March 14 or “3.14”) with kids than to help them unlock the circle’s secret and discover Pi! This fun activity uses common office supplies and household materials and is […]
Continue ReadingGather up the kiddies because it’s storytime! Meet Wind, a lonely triangle living on a flat, yet mysterious world. Watch as curiosity compels her to unravel those mysteries and change her world forever… (Warning: Spoilers below the clip!) “Wind and Mr. Ug ” is a shining example of education by stealth. It makes Möbius strips […]
Continue ReadingInspired by the White House’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign, the Joan Cooney Ganz Center issued this challenge: design a mobile app that engages kids while teaching them the STEM skills: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Developers were invited to enter prototypes to win the National STEM Video Game Challenge, with a prize of $50,000 towards […]
Continue ReadingI’m not sure what kind of geeky conversations go on in your households, but a common lament in my house is the lack of quality zombie apps on the market. Rather than listening to this diatribe yet again, I suggested that my son write it all down. Here’s his take on the state of the […]
Continue ReadingLast October, you may have seen a “fact” from your email/Facebook/Twitter friends (you know the ones) that the month would have five weekends–five Fridays, five Saturdays, and five Sundays–and that that happens only once every 823 years. Now the “fact” is showing up again since the same thing will happen in July 2011. But just […]
Continue ReadingMy youngest son is a whiz at math – as long as he can figure out problems in his head. But his uncanny ability to make sense of numbers is lost when he looks at a formulaic math problem. When he was learning long division he could frequently calculate the answer in his head, but […]
Continue Reading“Mathematics is the gate and key of the sciences. …Neglect of mathematics works injury to all knowledge, since he who is ignorant of it cannot know the other sciences or the things of this world.” –Roger Bacon Math is one of those quintessentially geeky things that are often taught so badly that even some of […]
Continue ReadingI was driving my ’58 Plymouth Fury on a long trip out of Boulder, Colorado to a strange town in Maine, when I stopped at a hotel along the way for a needed caffeine boost. A man in glasses and a way with words came over and asked, “So, what do you know about percentile […]
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Continue ReadingDanica McKellar is the author of a series of popular books focused on getting middle school-aged girls into math. This Q&A was supplied to GeekMom by Rebecca Zook. What can parents do to support their daughters in math? From a young age, point out how math is used in everyday life. So if you’re grocery […]
Continue ReadingI’ve been a geek all my life, but I hated school. Until college, I learned more watching PBS and maxing out my youth library card every week than I ever did in a classroom. I’m worried that my son will have the same experience – he’s only four years old, but he already loves science […]
Continue ReadingThere are many basic math apps out there, but most leave you wanting more. Doing math problem after math problem without levels to clear, goals to reach, or any extras to enjoy can get boring pretty quickly. Enter MathGirlGames and their fantastic apps. The first in the series of their math games for girls was […]
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