In Mind Reading with Math we showed how you could use binary to read someone’s mind.   For that activity, we used a set of cards representing the first four binary place values: 8, 4, 2, 1. Binary only has two digits: “1” or “0” (which could also be thought of as “yes” or “no”).  This made our mind reading trick

Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter who is now considered one of the great artists of the 20th century [1]. Among his other works, some of Mondrian’s art had a unique, geometric style that (no surprise) attracted the eyes and minds of mathematicians. His art looked a little something like this: From the clashing of two worlds, math and art,

This article was originally published in the Winter/Spring 2016 edition of the MTCircular.   Facebook Twitter The Pancake Problem is a sorting problem with connections to computer science and DNA rearrangements, which leads to discussions of algorithms, sequences, and the usefulness of approximations and bounds. Te original problem was frst posed by mathematician Jacob Goodman under the pen name “Harry

This week’s activity comes from James Tanton of the Global Math Project and G’Day Math. He’s also demonstrated this activity and similar problems for the Math Teachers’ Circle Network. Facebook Twitter how to fold a tie into perfect thirds Imagine you’re packing for a trip, and you’re planning on bringing your favorite tie. It’s too long to fit in your

This article was originally published in the Winter/Spring 2015 edition of the MTCircular.   Facebook Twitter Patterns are one of Math Circles’ great levelers. From recognizing a pattern to generating terms, to abstracting and making inferences, tasks based on patterns embody the “low-threshold, high-ceiling” trait of good problems. Liar’s Bingo is all about patterns, and we have used it with

This article was originally published in the Summer/Autumn 2015 edition of the MTCircular.  The activity was also facilitated by Chris Bolognese during the Math Teachers’ Circle Network Virtual Workshop in 2020. Facebook Twitter People who wonder about mathematical objects and ideas see math not as the quest for The Answer, but as an opportunity to play and discover. Humans are

This week’s activity highlights a mathematical game demonstrated by Dr. Holly Krieger from Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge.  You can view her presentation of the game on the Numberphile Youtube channel linked here.  We will also be using the Dollar Game applet developed by tech startup Hoodies to help explain the game and possible strategies. Facebook Twitter Click here for

During February’s Online Math Teacher Circle session, Henri Picciotto presented geometric puzzles that educators and students could attempt virtually using online manipulatives he created. Facebook Twitter https://youtu.be/GD_4LW86OHw Tangrams The session started with an explanation of Tangrams. The Tangram is a set of seven geometric shapes made up of five triangles, a square, and a parallelogram. In this activity students use

This week, we will be looking at two different two-player games. “Don’t Say 13” was developed at the San Francisco Math Circle, while Nim is an ancient game possibly originating from China. We’ll analyze strategies for both games and talk about how to create new variations on them.  Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Don’t Say 13 The

This week we’re highlighting a few activities previously demonstrated on Math Monday by Puzzle Master and Math Monday founder Scott Kim. You can also view these broadcasts and more on our Math Monday Youtube Playlist. Facebook Twitter Bongard Problems https://youtu.be/w5oprHOE0NU In this session, student learn about Bongard Problems — logic puzzles named for Russian computer scientist Mikhail Bongard, who included many

This week’s activity features a city planner creating an urban neighborhood populated by skyscrapers of different heights. We will be exploring the problem as presented by Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival (JRMF) through an online applet. We will also be giving some tips to get students started with this activity. Facebook Twitter Click here for the Skyscrapers online applet to share

This week’s activity features a neighborhood populated by Squares and Triangles that are slightly “shapist” (but only slightly) and don’t seem to coexist too well.  We’ll be exploring “Parable of the Polygons” by Vi Hart and Nicky Case and giving some tips to get students started with this activity. Facebook Twitter Click here for the lesson plan on Desmos Activity

This week’s activity is a great puzzle to work on with materials lying around the house, or using our online applet.  This problem was first inspired by MathPickle.com and their activity Jumping Frogs, with Stack Up developed by the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival and the Math Teachers’ Circle Network. Facebook Twitter Jumping Frogs The main goal of this puzzle is to get a

This activity takes a couple of classic logic puzzles and adapts them to better suit K-12 audiences. It was designed in the Desmos Activity Builder, so it can be played online and easily given to a classroom of students. The activity as presented was developed at the San Francisco Math Circle, and was recently featured on MathCommunities.org’s Math Monday Live program.  Facebook Twitter

For this week, we’re going to look at two very different activities that show a surprising result when presented together. Puppies and Kittens was first presented by Paul Zeitz for the Math Teachers’ Circle Network, and Queen’s Move is more commonly known as Wythoff’s game. Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Puppies & kittens A local animal shelter has

Here’s a great activity to impress students, friends, and family and show off what you can do with a little bit of creativity and some clever mathematics. This activity as presented was developed at the San Francisco Math Circle. Facebook Twitter To start this activity you need four cards with numbers written out as so: For the Math Mind Reading Trick,

Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter A prize is hidden behind one of three doors.  You choose the door where you think the prize is hidden. But before the door is opened, one of the other 2 remaining doors is opened to reveal no prize.  You must now decide to keep your original door choice or to switch

Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Do stories repeat?  They most certainly do on a Möbius strip!  The Möbius strip, or Möbius band, is named after August Ferdinand Möbius, a 19th century German mathematician and astronomer who was a pioneer in the field of topology. (The strip was also discovered independently at around the same time by Johann

Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter This fun activity, suggested for Grades 2 – 6,  has students visually discover why some division problems end up with remainders and some do not by filling paper “quilts” with paper “patches.”  Win the game with the most leftover “remainder patches”! Quilt Quilt Patches Materials (for each team of 2 players): Six,

Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter For centuries, people have been fascinated by tangrams, a Chinese puzzle consisting of pictures made from seven specific geometric shapes known as “tans,” or “pieces of cleverness.” But even if you’re aren’t familiar with Tangrams, what are they and how do they relate to math? This week’s activity, recommended for Grades 3