Inspiring Teacher: Mister Craig New
Craig New has been inspiring students at Lake Cowichan Secondary School for over two decades, passing on his love of math and science.
Continue ReadingTag: math
GeekDad Puzzle of the Week Answer: Potato Hamster at Large
The solution to the past week’s GeekDad Puzzle of the Week.
Continue ReadingGeekDad Puzzle of the Week: Potato Hamster at Large
Potato Hamster is at large. On Sunday morning, GeekDad Day, we found the top exercise wheel portion of her cage on the floor, leaving a hole, and the hamster was nowhere to be found. The folks at the pet store …
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DragonBox: Algebra Beats Angry Birds
What if I were to tell you that Angry Birds had been surpassed in the App Store—by a game that involves solving algebra equations? Because that’s what DragonBox did. Do I have your attention now?
Continue ReadingGeekDad Puzzle of the Week Answer: Coffee Conundrum II
The solution to last week’s GeekDad Puzzle of the Week.
Continue ReadingFractal Broccoli for the Gardening Geek
Yes, math really is everywhere. Having just spent the last few hours of daylight preparing containers for our eventual heirloom tomato harvest (Black Krims, Brandywines, Pears, and Baby Brandywines) I happened to swing by Etsy to check out their home …
Continue ReadingExponential Awesomeness of Neil DeGrasse Tyson
It doesn’t matter where you start. Any exposure to astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson creates ever increasing urges to absorb more of this man’s wisdom, delivered with the charisma and wit rarely packaged in one person. For example, a newly released video by science enthusiast Max Schlickenmeyer adds music and visuals along with Dr. Tyson’s answer to the […]
Continue ReadingMathematical Precision of Pasta
When mixing flour, egg, salt and water to make pasta, I’d guess the only math you consider is how many minutes you have left before the kids will be begging for dinner. I’d guess that you never really contemplated the mathematical beauty of that rigatoni or cavatappi that you are eating. Thats not the way […]
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The World’s Greatest Mathematical Card Trick
Amaze your friends (and even yourself) with this clever trick.
Continue Reading2012 White House Science Fair
Nothing like flying marshmallows to keep the secret service busy protecting President Barak Obama. Tuesday was the second annual White House Science Fair. The president seemed to have a blast playing with science yesterday, he even caused a little bit of innocent trouble with 14 year old Maker Faire veteran, Joey Hudy of Phoenix, AZ, […]
Continue ReadingGeekDad Puzzle of the Week: Stair Wars
In a recent fit of New Year’s optimism, I started bringing my running shoes with me to work the two days a week I write science news for the University of Colorado Cancer Center. The thing is, as I’ve learned …
Continue ReadingMiddle-Aged Math Prodigy? Never Say Never
The story was pretty much as I remembered it. A seemingly ordinary 10-year-old boy of humble origins blows away the ogre-like village schoolmaster with his ability to add up a series of one hundred numbers in his head. Feeling pretty …
Continue ReadingReview: Monkey Tales PC Games Combine Math, Mazes and Fun!
My kids play educational games on the PC at school and never once have they come home and said they’ve enjoyed that time. The only feedback they’ve ever given is that the games are not fun, but silly and boring and lame. So, when I told them I had some math games I wanted them to check out […]
Continue ReadingGeek Celebrates Hanukkah With Science: Day Three
Unconventional holiday traditions are fun for the whole family! So far this year, my family has celebrated Hanukkah by launching rockets indoors and constructing small boats in order to sink them. Today we’re delving deeper, into the very language of science. That’s right; it’s math time. Roger Bacon said, “Mathematics is the gate and key […]
Continue ReadingHappy 50th Birthday to ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’!
This year, the celebrated children’s book The Phantom Tollbooth turned 50. It’s a fantastic story about a boy named Milo “who didn’t know what to do with himself—not just sometimes, but always.”
Continue ReadingEchoes of Barbie’s “Math Class Is Tough!”
Remember 20 years ago (has it really been that long?) when the Teen Talk Barbie uttered the phrase “Math class is tough!” and ignited a firestorm of bad publicity for Mattel? You’d think people would have learned their lesson by …
Continue ReadingMuse of Nerds: College Physics, Innovative Robotics, Homeschooling — Dr. McColgan Can Do It All!
For my Muse of Nerds this month, I’ll formally introduce you to someone I have talked about in the past: Dr. Michele McColgan of Siena College. I met her through our homeschooling group (she has two elementary-aged children) and she has introduced my kids to science, math, robots, computer programming, alternative energy, a Lego Robotics […]
Continue ReadingK1, P1, Slst, and Other Such Coding.
I like to do a variety of crafts in my free time. I am an avid scrapbooker, I occasionally make clothing, I dabble in knitting, and I love to crochet. I prefer crocheting over knitting because if I make a mistake then I know how to fix it. When I knit and make a mistake, […]
Continue ReadingLearn Multiplication Tables the Visual Way With This App
Unlike Esa Helttula’s other apps, which allow kids to practice specific skills through a no-nonsense kind of interface, Esa’s latest app, for the iPad, gives kids a playground of sorts to play around with the multiplication table and its contents. …
Continue ReadingEntire Cyberchase Animated Series Now Available Online
As a GeekMom, I’m extremely choosy about what and how much children’s television and online programming my child consumes. After all, time is my family’s most precious commodity. Therefore, when my child engages with children’s programming, it has to be great. I am delighted that the entire Emmy Award-winning animated video series, Cyberchase, is now […]
Continue ReadingMeteor Math for iOS Makes Math Fast and Fun
If you’re looking for a great way to drill your elementary-aged kids on basic math facts, Meteor Math makes for a massive spoonful of sugar for that mathematical medicine. Back in September, Mind Shapes released this new universal iOS app …
Continue ReadingSTEM to STEAM: The Importance of Arts in Science
For this month’s Muse of Nerds, I quickly grabbed onto the STEM to STEAM movement (adding ‘arts’ to the technical.) Creativity is the foundation for advancement in all fields. The arts — writing, music, art, theater and dance — paired with science, technology, engineering and math, foster a relationship between both sides of the brain […]
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Review: Math for Grownups
Let it be said from the start: I’m a word girl, not a numbers girl. And I’m okay with that. My husband? He wishes I could crunch numbers a little more like him. I think the glassy-eyed, blank stares he gets when he starts talking numbers to me scare him just a little bit. I […]
Continue ReadingMultiAlien Is a Fun Alien Shooter App That Also Teaches Math
Of all the topics in school, my kids struggle a bit with math. It’s not an issue I worry about it – they understand the concepts – they just need a little extra practice, which is why I like to …
Continue ReadingScience Of Sound Demystified
Math geek Vi Hart demonstrates the scientific and mathematical basis for sound, frequency, and pitch in this engaging video. Fascinating.
Continue ReadingTeen Taps Into Power of Fibonacci to Harness the Sun
After a hike in the Catskill Mountains last winter, 13-year-old Aidan Dwyer noticed the patterns in the branches of trees. Investigation led him to an important insight about how the shape of the branches can be used by the tree …
Continue ReadingGoogle Doodle Commemorates Fermat’s Last Theorem on His 410th Birthday
Google’s logo Wednesday is a chalkboard scrawl of one of the most famous mathematical puzzles of the last few centuries.
Continue ReadingHarry Potter Week: Teaching With Harry Potter: An Overview
Some time ago, I suddenly realised what would be my dream job: I’d like to be Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. After Voldemort’s fall, if possible. Or before his rise. I intend to keep the charge more than one year. Alas, it seems that few schools (if any) are looking for such a teacher, so […]
Continue ReadingSuper Bonus GeekDad Retro Gaming: DataMan
I really appreciate all the email and comments regarding my look back last week at some early electronics games — I knew there’d be a good size group of geek dads that would remember Stop Thief, Dark Tower, and Electronic …
Continue ReadingThe Numbers League App Improves on a Masterpiece
App versions of tabletop games are everywhere these days. Usually they are lacking when compared to the original. But there are a few game publishing companies that have taken the time to do it right, to faithfully recreate their game …
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