Events of October 2011

Celebrate Hoosier Science Festival

Oct 8, 2011

Working with Jay Brockman, Micha Kilburn, and other faculty from Notre Dame, we participated in the Celebrate Hoosier Science Festival at the Indianapolis State Fairground. We brought two hands-on activities: Lissajous Sand Pendula and Chladni Plates. In both of these activities students explored the sand designs corresponding to different frequencies and amplitudes. Students used a Matlab module to control trigonometric models of a Lissajous Sand Pendulum, and attempted to match the real pendulum as accurately as possible.

East Lansing Math Circle Visit

Oct 14, 2011 – Oct 15, 2011

Working with Ashley Ahlin, the founder of the East Lansing Math Circle, we trained 16 undergraduate students as station leaders for an upcoming Julia Robinson Festival. Station topics included Racing Dice, Owls and Voles, the Candy Sharing Game, Nim Games, Modular Arithmetic, Mobius Bands and Loop Shapes, SET, Ken-Ken, Constructing Polyhedra, and Rush Hour. On Saturday, Amanda led a hands-on investigation of the Fermi Question "What would it take to fill this room with popcorn" for a Math Circle consisting of 30 elementary students and their parents. Ashley and Amanda also met to discuss plans for expanding the East Lansing Math Circle.

Notre Dame Edison School Days

Oct 18, 2011 – Oct 19, 2011

As part of Notre Dame University's annual Edison School campus visit days, Riverbend instructor David Stair led a proportional reasoning activity involving becoming entrepreneurs of a trail mix company.