Math and art have always been linked closely, so why not try exploring this link in a fun way with your San Carlos kids? Math in art is everywhere–just look at M.C. Escher’s cool geometric tessellations, or the use of proportions in Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Virtruvian Man.” By incorporating math into fun art projects, you can increase your child’s love of learning, and their creativity when exploring math! Making math fun is an important key to your child’s success in the subject, so why not up the fun quotient with some new math-related arts and crafts? Below are five tips to make this summer an art and math filled experience:
Tiled Hexagon Tessellation by Urban Hafner via Flickr
5 Fun Math-Related Art Project Ideas for Kids
- Make a tessellation just like M.C. Escher or the one above! Here’s a link explaining how to easily make an impressive tessellation; all it requires is a sheet of paper, some scissors, and some markers or colored pencils.
- Create a 3D sculpture of one of the five platonic solids! They’re a blast to create and make great decorations for any room. Directions can be found here.
- Create a compass mandala! These are fun because they can be as complicated or simple as you choose to make it, and all you need is a compass, pencil, and some coloring materials! Click here for the simple directions.
- Here’s an edible math treat! Use toothpicks and marshmallows/gumdrops to create cool 3D shapes, like cubes, pyramids, and cones, then branch out to see other shapes you can make! See who can get the biggest/most complex sculpture without collapsing, then enjoy eating the losing sculptures.
- Make a number pattern graph like the one found here! Test out different graphs to find the different exponential curves you can make.
These art projects are fun and help strengthen the connection between math and the real world. Try taking your kids to an art museum afterwards, and see if they can point out any math they can see in the sculptures, paintings, and photographs! Comment to let us know which of these math-related art projects worked for you.
~ Mathin’ Catherine, 6/2013
> Learn more about Math Tutoring at Mathnasium of Palo Alto – Menlo Park