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Geometiles in a Children’s Museum in Minnesota

As an educator passionate about fostering mathematical curiosity and discovery, I cherish moments when learning becomes a vibrant, interactive journey. Recently, that moment unfolded at the Southern Minnesota Children’s Museum in partnership with MathHappens, an organization which made math a regular, and exciting, part of weekend programming. Featured on KEYC News, the weekend event showcased…
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The Math in the Window

When I first visited Finney Chapel at Oberlin College in Ohio, I was struck by the round window; it lacked the mirror symmetry typical of rose windows in Romanesque style buildings, of which Finney is one, and looked more like a geometry problem. Until I read more about its history, I thought it might be…
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Accidental Area Problem

Every summer, I participate in math photo challenge on Twitter. This week’s prompt was “area”; we were specifically instructed to “look for shapes made from one or more simple polygons or circles”. I found a very rich example right by the water fountain in the lobby of the San Diego Museum of Art. I was…
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Modeling the Newly Discovered Aperiodic Monotile with Geometiles

The world of tilings has recently had a breakthrough discovery: for the first time a single shape has been found that can cover the plane only in aperiodic patterns. That means that, unlike many patterns you see on wallpapers, buildings, or floors, the patterns created by these new tiles do NOT repeat themselves. This is…
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