STEM girls workshop: The beauties of maths
The Girls' STEM Workshop: The Beauty of Mathematics, led by Dr. Đặng Văn Sơn and Ms Đào Thị Hồng Quyên, was successfully held at Lương Năng Secondary School, Văn Quan District, Lạng Sơn Province, on May 4, 2024. Participating students had enriching and novel mathematical experiences.
The beauty of mathematics in traditional costumes.
Lương Năng Secondary School is located in the deep mountainous region of Văn Quan district, adjacent to Bình Gia district, Lạng Sơn province. The students at Lương Năng Secondary School are predominantly of Tày and Nùng ethnicities. To kick off the workshop, teachers and students discussed the geometric patterns and motifs on the traditional costumes of the Tày and Nùng ethnic groups.
The Beauty of Mathematics - Geometry of the Heart
In geometry, a cardioid (from the Greek word καρδιά, kardiá, meaning ‘heart’) is a curve on a plane traced by a point on the circumference of a circle rolling around a fixed circle of the same radius. It can also be defined as an epicycloid with a single cusp. Additionally, it is a type of sinusoidal spiral and an inverse curve of a parabola with the focus as the center of inversion. A cardioid can also be defined as the set of points of reflection of a fixed point on a circle through all tangents to that circle.
Creating heart shapes using yarn
The process of knitting or crocheting with yarn may seem simple, but it demands patience and meticulousness. Students need to concentrate intensely to craft mathematically intricate creations. Upon completing the challenge, students feel immensely joyful and proud. The colorful cardioid artworks made from yarn are displayed at the workshop, capturing everyone’s attention.
Tesselation
Tessellation is the arrangement of repeated shapes to completely cover a plane without any gaps or overlaps. This concept originates from the Latin word “tessella,” meaning a small piece in mosaic art, also known as tiling. Exploring Tessellation is an engaging STEM activity, using simple geometric shapes like triangles, squares, hexagons, as well as decorative motifs like birds, leaves… to create a closed plane. Students from Luong Nang School participating in Tessellation activities have expressed excitement and enthusiasm. They mentioned, “We didn’t think these bird shapes could fit together so tightly; mathematics is incredibly fascinating.”
STEM Girls Workshop: The beauty of mathematics is a testament to the efforts of the Power of Radiance, a STEM for Vulnerable Adolescents in communicating, creating multidimensional perspectives, connecting, and expanding opportunities for girls’ participation in STEM education activities, especially girls from ethnic minority backgrounds. Hopefully, more STEM Girls Workshops will be organized in the future to provide them with better learning and development opportunities.
