Amazing Math Projects: Projects You Can Build Yourself

Description

Make a geodesic dome big enough to sit in. Solve one of the world's hardest two-piece puzzles. Pass a straight line through a curved slot. From prime numbers to paraboloids, Amazing Math Projects You Can Build Yourself introduces readers ages 9 and up to the beauty and wonder of math through hands-on activities. Kids will cut apart shapes to discover area formulas, build beautiful geometric models to explore their properties, and amaze friends with the mysterious Moebius strip. Learning through examples of how we encounter math in our daily lives, children will marvel at the mathematical patterns in snowflakes and discover the graceful curves in the Golden Gate Bridge. Readers will never look at soap bubbles the same way again! Amazing Math Projects You Can Build Yourself includes projects about number patterns, lines, curves, and shapes. Each activity includes intriguing facts, vocabulary builders, and connections to other topics. A companion website, includes video instructions for many projects in the book and provides additional activities.

Laszlo Bardos is a high school mathematics teacher and website author. He holds a degree in engineering and a master's degree in business administration. He is the author of the website CutOutFoldUp.com, a site of mathematical models that you can make out of paper. He collected interesting math models and tidbits since he was a kid. As a teacher, he saw the value of having students build and manipulate models to visualize math concepts Samuel Carbaugh: Sam Carbaugh is a freelance cartoonist and illustrator. He has worked with many colleges and companies to create informational comics and illustrations.

Library Media Connection "Wondering how to make math fun or how to encourage students to see math as an interesting subject? This book shows readers how math concepts can be learned using readily available items. Sections cover number patterns, lines, curves, and shapes. Introducing the concepts through hands-on activities conveys how mathematics is not as scary as many think. Chapters provide directions for the activities, along with other facts, and "words 2 know." Students will appreciate the fun, creative activities. Younger readers may have difficulty with some of the vocabulary. Bibliography. Glossary. Index.[Editor's Note: An additional activity and facts are available at the publisher's website.] Recommended." CLEAR Review "This book is full of hands-on math projects that are easy and fun. From interesting applications of numbers and counting, to geometric shapes and even experiments with bubbles, this book is sure to make math fun! It carefully explains each mathematical concept and includes vocabulary that reinforces the narrative. Then the concept is applied to a project or game, including fun facts. This book will get lots of attention and use for sure." Magnus Wenninger Fr. "A wonderful book, I am utterly delighted and pleased with its vast mathematical content. The book begins with the simplest notions of arithmetic and proceeds on to geometry and all kinds of higher math, with plenty of hands-on constructions and do-it-yourself suggestions. David Bressoud, the DeWitt Wallace Professor of Mathematics, Macalester College; President, Mathematical Association of America "...Very hands-on and easy to get into and draws students into an active engagement with mathematical ideas. Well done!"