SPROUTS, a wonderful place for exploring math and science in Somerville -- check it out!

by Alec Resnick 

Sprout is an educational nonprofit which is starting up 

its first big season of programs in the next few weeks.

You can find a full listing at the programs;theprograms 

as well as more information about their open studios in 

Davis Square ourstudios.  What follows are some short 

descriptions of their math- and science-focused programs 

appropriate for both youth and adults in the area.  

Significant financial support is available, so if you'd 

like to make arrangements (or if you have any other 

questions), feel free to email Alec Resnick at
alec@thesprouts.org.

- EXPLORING MATH THROUGH COMPUTATION, AND VICE VERSA
turtlegeometry is a thirteen-week, hands-on seminar 

exploring how we can actively and personally explore 

questions of computer science, topology, and 

differential geometry using the programming languages 

Ruby, Processing, and Scratch.  In particular, this 

course will focus on exploring and unifying the 

aesthetic and computational aspects of these fields. 

No formal background in computer science or math beyond 

basic comfort with algebra is required.  There will be 

three tracks: one for educators and parents, one for youth, 

and one for a general audience.  Email Alec at
alec@thesprouts.org; if you have any questions or check 

out the seminar site turtlegeometry; for more details.

- ECOMODDING YOUR HOME eventbrite is a two month
seminar focused on identifying and implementing simple 

strategies to reduce electricity consumption. In this 

seminar, we'll use a special power strip developed at 

sprout. This power strip enables you to see how and 

when your appliances use electricity and ensure they 

only use electricity when you want them to--whether 

that means turning off your TV's standby mode 

while you're at work or dimming your lamp when its 

sunny outside.  This is accomplished by programming 

the microcontrollers which control the power strip--

a skill participants will be introduced to through 

this seminar.  No background in electronics or 

programming is required.

- FLUTES AND WAVES flutesandwaves is a weekend 

workshop in which participants will build their own 

flutes and begin to explore the acoustical qualities 

of those instruments.  Interested participants will 

have the chance to exlpore how their flute design 

affects their instrument's acoustics using a spectrum 

analyzer and working to understand the underlying 

physics of what's going on inside the flute. 

Instrument design is an amazing mix of craft and 

science--despite how much we know, we don't know 

much about how the finer points of instruments' 

sound work. This is a two-day workshop and studio 

(10AM-4PM on two, consecutive Saturdays) exploring 

how flutes are made, and how their design controls 

what sorts of sounds they can make.  This workshop 

is appropriate for people coming at it from the 

musical, acoustical, or simply interested perspectives. 

Email shaunalynn@thesprouts.org if you have any 

questions.

- DIGITAL GARDENING dg.eventbrite is a one day 

workshop coordinated by Keith Simmons, co-designer 

of the Wireplant microcontroller kit. Hosted at the 

MIT Museum, this workshop leads participants through 

the basic electronics and practical skills needed 

to understand and assemble an Arduino-controlled 

moisture sensor which lets you explore sensing 

and measurement in gardening.

- SIMULATION AND NATURE IN DESIGN nervous.eventbrite

is a thirteen-week, project-driven seminar exploring 

how computation and simulation can be used to take 

inspiration from the processes and phenomena of the 

natural world to produce physical and virtual

objects. Facilitated by Jesse Louis-Rosenberg 

(co-founder of the Nervous System n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com 

design studio), this seminar will explore how we can 

understand natural forms—from leaf venation 

to the growth of coral—with computational tools.  

Email jesse@n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com if you have any 

questions or check out the seminar site 

n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/education for more details.

THE MATH INVESTIGATIONS CLUB

By Lisa Mitrano

(Kindergarten teacher at the Argenziano School)

In the Somerville Public Schools, the TERC math curriculum, Investigations, is used. Kindergarten students are introduced to many important ideas and concepts such as counting, measurement, patterning, sorting, etc. In my Math Investigations Club, these skills are explored and reinforced through the reading of books, playing games and using manipulatives.

Every Thursday afternoon from 2:30 to 4:00, parents join their children in our classroom for this club. At our first session on October 22^nd, there were 10 children, 7 mothers, 2 fathers, and one grandmother in attendance. After a quick snack, everyone gathered together on the rug as I read Dr. Jean’s math book There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A One about the day’s math focus skill: counting. Following this, parents and children team up and do math activities together.

As I rotated among the groups, I heard many interesting comments from the children who were thrilled to do a learning activity with a family member. I was happy when I heard, “Count with me, Mommy” and “Let’s play this game again” and I was thrilled to hear a child exclaim, “I know what number comes next!” I overheard one lady who did not speak English very well repeat the numbers from one to twenty in English after her granddaughter and then the granddaughter cried out, “Grandma, you did it!”

Young children learn how to count by having many opportunities to count and to see and hear others count. They develop strategies for counting accurately by:

• Learning the names of the numbers in order;
• Assigning one number to each object;
• Counting each object once and only once;
• Keeping track of what has been counted;
• Seeing that the last number said represents the total number counted.

Here are the goals of my Math Investigations Club:

• To expose students to a wide variety of math materials;
• To integrate literature, games and math;
• To build and strengthen the child-parent connection;
• To allow families to play math games that are motivational, educational and fun;
• To provide parents with a meaningful way to work with their children to strengthen, supplement and master the math curriculum.

What a wonderful experience it is to see this club in action and all the adults who dedicated quality time to spend one-on-one with their child and “play math”.

For more pictures from an afternoon at the math club, click here.

The Somerville Community Celebrates Pi Day

by Erica Dakin Voolich

At various schools around our city this year, Pi was celebrated a “day early” on Friday, March 13. Technically, Pi Day is March 14th (3.14), and to be more precise, March 14th at 1:59:26.

Students at the West Somerville Neighborhood School in 6th, 7th and 8th grade had activities related to Pi in their classes. The students in the Brown School 6th grade and the Kennedy School 6th through 8th made posters and tee-shirts, wrote and practiced skits or songs or raps and researched Pi in advance. Students kindergarten through eighth grade at the Argenziano School at Lincoln Park celebrated during the day. Finally, the day was capped off with middle students from East Somerville Community School at Cummings and from the Brown School joining the middle school students at Kennedy School (pictures) and numerous high school and community volunteers for an activity-packed family mathematics night (details) at the Kennedy School. The generosity of the Table Talk Pie Company made it possible for everyone, students, parents, teachers, volunteers to go home with their own small pie and the winners of activities to take home a full-sized pie. This final event was sponsored by and coplanned with The Somerville Mathematics Fund.

Among the activities at the Kennedy School Family Mathematics Night were
Displaying the posters created.
Wearing the tee shirts created.
Estimating the size of various circular objects (from the size of lids by feel only to the inside of circles on the gym floor to various balls).
Collecting Data on various targets (circle inscribed in square vs square inscribed in a circle) and toothpick drops (Buffon needle experiment).
Estimating the number of various circular things in jars.
Making Pi buttons to wear.
Finding personal dates of birth in Pi.
Taking a quiz on pi facts.
Predicting the distance a wheel would roll.
Drawing freehand a circle the size of a CD.
Graphing the diameter vs the circumference of a variety of circles.
Predicting volume in a cylinder.
Performing the skits and raps written.

Pi is an infinitely long number that lends itself to celebration by a collection of aficionados in many schools. It is one of those numbers, that even though you can’t possibly write out all of its digits, and for centuries they have been difficult to calculate, it’s basic concepts are simple enough to understand that it lends itself to celebrations on March 14 each year. Web sites are devoted to activities related to Pi for teachers to use and share and also to such π paraphernalia such as tee-shirts, cups, pins hats, etc. Scholarly articles and books along with story books have been written on Pi. This year congress passed a resolution supporting Pi Day and our local Congressman Capuano voted “yes” to encourage the celebration of this important mathematical holiday. Last year, even a local pie shop, Petsi Pies, got involved.

If you are interested in celebrating this holiday next year, contact me at voolich@aol.com. I’m sure there will be something mathematical happening.