The famous mathematician John von Neumann one said, “In mathematics, you don’t understand things; you just get used to them.” However, I don’t agree with him. I believe that if we develop mathematical things, such as projects, we should definitely have an understanding about how mathematics works.
I believe that these projects will be a huge hit with students or children because most students don’t fully grasp the idea of a math topic when they see it. Projects are a hands-on learning experience which should be included in the schools curriculum.
Below, I have compiled a list of some unique and cool mathematical projects for any blooming mathematicians. So far, I have had a chance to make a few of these projects with my students. As for the rest of them, I am planning to institute them into my curriculum this year. Because life is short, I will show you below some of the easiest instructions available in a link below the description so that you can follow along with students or children.
Makedo Windball is a simple, yet unique geometry project. Basically, all you do is assemble simple cardboards and turn them into a kind of art form. The main idea behind the project is actually quite abstract; it shows that there is no truly perfect sphere in this world. In addition, you can prove that spheres are made out of squares, hexagons, or triangles.
To begin, realize the following statement is true: There is no perfect spherical or circular object in our universe, and there will never be. The planets, raindrops, marbles, coins; none of these are perfectly rounded. You may think that gravity is holding us back from a perfect sphere, affecting the shape of the earth or of a raindrop, but even if there is no gravity, we still wouldn’t have a perfect sphere. This can be proven by you zooming in far enough- you will start seeing the edges of molecules. On Youtube, the user Veritasium explains this in a beautiful way.
A Makedo windball is the best way to grasp this idea. You are taking something that exists in square form and making it into a sphere. In the beginning, you need 32 12-inches squares. When you connect all of them, you will see some gaps in the shape of pentagons and triangles. To make that gap smaller, you will need smaller squares to fill it in. Every time you make your squares smaller, you will get closer to the perfect sphere. But keep this in mind; you can make it as round as you can, but it will still have miniscule holes , and it will not truly be a perfect sphere.
The Makedo Windball project also involves important fields for students such as design, prototyping, recycling, construction, and, of course- fun!
You can find the instructions here.
• Project Type: Abstract, Geometry, Engineering
• Supplies: Makedo Cardboard Construction Toolset for Whole Classroom or Makedo Cardboard Construction Toolkit and 12 x 12 Cardboards.
A harmonograph is a drawing machine powered by the freedom of motion. It draws endless attractive geometric designs and patterns, in other words, harmonograms, using nothing but swinging pendulums, an oscillating pencil or pen, and 3–4 minutes.
Making a harmonograph is one of my favorite projects to do with my students, especially those who are interested in design and engineering. Working on a harmonograph project with students is a fascinating process. It’s a great project to display science & engineering. For instance, while the pendulums are moving and pen/pencil is oscillating, you can see that the energy is transferred between the pen/pencil and the pendulum. You can also figure out the mathematics of a harmonograph, discussed by Paul Borke on his website.
Karl Sims wrote an amazingly detailed article about making a Harmonograph. I’ve improved some of the supplies from Mr. Sims’ list, so you can make your harmonograph cooler. For instance, the magnetic balls will give you more freedom of movement than the nails and the foldable support brackets are perfect to connect legs of the table. You can also get these plywood and wooden dowels.
• Project Type: Art, Geometry, Engineering
• Supplies: Micron Pen, Magnetic balls, Foldable Support Brackets, Plywood, Wooden Dowels.
Euler’s disk is a heavy disk and such a remarkable science toy that every science teacher should have one. The Euler’s disk is for teaching the relationship between magnetics, momentum, and gravity. It perfectly demonstrates the conservation of energy and introduces potential and kinetic energy.
When you show this toy to your students, they can’t help but spin it themselves over and over. Even the students who have no interest in physics would probably participate in your class for the first time. They would think it’s not going to stop spinning or that it has some electronic devices such as batteries. At that time, you can start your conversation about scientific principles and explain the natural physics that keeps Euler’s disk spinning.
Your students don’t need to be smart to grasp the interesting idea behind the movement. This cool video explains everything about Euler’s disk.
It is also a perfect gift for your science teacher!
• Project Type: Science
