Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Math Art with Fractals

the Sierpinski triangle is a fractal image, which is self similar: Meaning that any small portion of it will look the same as a larger portion down to the microscopic level.

I have had a soft spot for fractals all my life, since my first research project was using mangelbrot fractals to model wire roughness. Fractals are used a lot by Scientists and Mathematicians to model different natural phenomena as so many, from broccoli to lightning to blood vessels can be described by the principle.

So, I decided that the Sierpinsky triangle is a beautiful fractal for introducing to kids, because it can be easily scaled up and scaled down. After a couple of iterations, Anjali caught on and did it all by herself, marking and measuring the triangles. 


 Later the kids took their paints and easels to the playground for a spot of collaborative painting. As they explored their scenaries, I did a spot of Sierpinski triangle myself.

And this morning continued working on it by filling them with some gemstones. They make beautiful goemetric designs, dont they?

3 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I love that you are seeing the art in math :)

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  2. lovelovelove fractals! What an awesome idea. Mandelbrot and wire roughness... no wonder you have a soft spot for fractals! :)

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  3. Math art! That would be a great series. I love these shapes and how easy kids can recreate them. Thanks for sharing at Mom's Library!

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