Patterns and Art
The ArtByMath site illustrates patterns and art, generated by mathematical statements...
Links
The ArtByMath site illustrates patterns and art, generated by mathematical statements. They are fun and eye-catching to children of the media age. The purpose of their inclusion in this library is to sensitize students to observe sophisticated patterns in their environment. Tesselations can be created with software called Tesselmania; as a challenge, check the software references to find it! Symmetry in art and math is illustrated by patterns in old Arabian rugs. The Community Bridge is an illusion. Painters turn an unremarkable viaduct-like bridge into computer art with tricks, such as "depth", to fool the eye.
Illusionsworks includes both classical and new illusions. Puzzles and a bibliography are also included. This vendor is also seeking contributions from its viewers.Shockwave, a plug-in, is needed.(Note: A click from here will not deliver you to Illusionworks, because plug-ins need to be activated first. So go to a search engine, such as Google, and place www.illusionworks.com in the search field.) The Learning Studio at the Exploratorium has mounted a set of illusions, some often not easily found such as the squirming palm. Such illusions almost always intrigue students.
IBM is sponsoring a site (eos) with origami, fractals, kaleidoscopes and crystals to help students construct these art works, based on math concepts. The 3D nature of this art, too, will help students visualize multi-dimensional math objects and tap creative powers at the same time.
ThinkQuest #11679 presents student work about fractals and chaos.It is a good model for your students to view when creating online projects for these seemingly complex topics, illustrating patterns. The use of the sw Geometer's Sketchpad for understanding fractals and snowflakes can be found at Ball State.
Sandlot Science has taken advantage of Java applet technology to offer a site with almost 3 dozen well-known illusions. The distortions, called lunar and commonly observed on the moon's surface from earth, are carefully explained.
Another set of illusions has been compiled by Michael Bach.
Annotation
In a child's eye natural phenomena seem random. A special and startling lens for detecting patterns, such as fractals and illusions, will help sharpen their perceptions and awaken them to the mathematical and perceptual unity in nature and environments.
