"Math is...Shapes"
Our first week of school we did the typical, get to know you stuff, reviewed class expectations & rules, etc. But we also got a few hands on lessons that allowed the students to OPEN their minds to see a different side to Math, a very hands on version of Math. Each day we had a theme of 'Math is...': Problem Solving & Teamwork, a Language, Patterns, Shapes, & Art. The photos above show classes learning about "Math is a...Shape" and "Does Shape Matter?" for our warmup and testing this out. Then we learned how to build Geodesic Domes.
Problem Solving & Teamwork were very much involved as each Table (Team) had to work together to build a Dome using an assembly line. Some students had to measure straws of 4" (which we called Strut A), other students measured straws at 3.5" (called Strut B). Then others took those straws and cut them. After, they would string Struts onto pipe cleaners to create Pentagons & within each Pentagon they created Triangles that would become 3 dimensional. We linked 6 Pentagons together to form a Dome (or hemisphere). Teams paired up to combine their Domes to form a Geodesic Sphere. We will hang these up in class from the ceilings!
Never heard of a Geodesic Dome? Here's some fun facts:
Wanna build one at home? Download my pdf instructions here:
Problem Solving & Teamwork were very much involved as each Table (Team) had to work together to build a Dome using an assembly line. Some students had to measure straws of 4" (which we called Strut A), other students measured straws at 3.5" (called Strut B). Then others took those straws and cut them. After, they would string Struts onto pipe cleaners to create Pentagons & within each Pentagon they created Triangles that would become 3 dimensional. We linked 6 Pentagons together to form a Dome (or hemisphere). Teams paired up to combine their Domes to form a Geodesic Sphere. We will hang these up in class from the ceilings!
Never heard of a Geodesic Dome? Here's some fun facts:
- A Geodesic Dome house can be built in 7 hours
- It's sustainable housing and can withstand hurricanes and tornados.
- It's super strong and withstand huge weights because of the multi-triangles all over it's surface.
- The most famous Geodesic Sphere is located on the happiest place on earth in Orlando, Florida. Any guesses?
- Check out 'The Eden Project' in Cornwall, UK: https://www.edenproject.com/eden-story/eden-timeline
- Finland (Glass Dome Igloo Hotel): https://www.kakslauttanen.fi/accommodation/glass-igloos/
- The 1st Geodesic Dome was designed after World War I by Walther Bauersfeld,[1] chief engineer of the Carl Zeiss optical company, for a planetarium to house his planetarium projector.
- Twenty years later, Buckminster Fuller coined the term "geodesic" from field experiments. Fuller was not the original inventor, but he is credited with the U.S. popularization of the idea for which he received U.S. Patent 2682235A on 29 June 1954.
- Buckminster Fuller's Dome Home: https://youtu.be/wltL_qdj3-s
- BUCKY FULLER (6.5 MIN): https://youtu.be/d0_DKeFfObI
- Buckminster Fuller Institute: https://www.bfi.org/about-fuller/big-ideas
Wanna build one at home? Download my pdf instructions here:
geo_dome_-_instructions.pdf |