Bridges Helsinki 2022 Family Day & Math-Art Expo
Chair: Kristóf Fenyvesi
Program Board: Eve Torrence, Carlo H. Sequin, Sujan Shrestha, Kirsi Peltonen, Hanna Korhonen
Time: 4 August 2022, 1:00 pm–5:30 pm
Location: National Museum of Finland (Mannerheimintie 34, 00100 Helsinki)
>>> Venue: MAIN FLOOR
(A) Giant Symmetry Sculpture
by Dr. David Reimann
http://drmathart.com/
We will build a giant, modular sculpture as a group. Everybody is welcome to join regardless of age.
(B) The “John Hiigli” Children & Youth Math-Art Exhibit with a unique selection from the South African GMMDC MathArt Competition 2022: A Digital Exhibit
Curated by Carine Steyn, Werner Olivier & Kristof Fenyvesi http://www.mathart.co.za/
The Children and Youth Math-Art Exhibits have been organized at Bridges conferences since 2012. This year’s digital exhibition will draw attention to works collected in South Africa under the topic of “Mathematics the language of the Sciences.” The exhibit will also include children’s math-artworks collected in Finland.
(C) Experience Workshop’s STEAM Bazaar: Mondrian Blocks, SmartEgg, and More
by Matias Kaukolinna, Kerry Osborne and Imre Kökényesi
www.experienceworkshop.org
Experience Workshop celebrates Mondrian’s 150th anniversary by inviting everyone to try the popular mathematical puzzle, Mondrian Blocks, and other math-art games and toolkits from the Finland-based Experience Workshop’s STEAM education collection. Mondrian Blocks and SmartEgg producer Imre Kökényesi will be a special guest and game master at the booth.
>>> Venue: 0 Floor
(Auditorium)
1.00 – 1:40 pm: Bridges Short Film Festival – First Screening
1:50 – 2:40 pm: Bridges Theatre Performance
4:30 – 5:30 pm: Bridges Short Film Festival – Second Screening
The festival presents an annual reel of juried short films exploring mathematical themes. It will include films, videos, and animations created for educational, corporate, and artistic purposes or fun. Styles will consist of mathematical visualizations, conceptual animations, stories and fairy tales, art based on mathematical rules, and exciting explanations and entertainment. This year’s Bridges Short Film Festival jury consisted of Susan Gerofsky, Henry Segerman, and Bianca Violet.
You can find a gallery of this year’s short films on http://gallery.bridgesmathart.org/
1:50 – 2:40 pm Bridges Demoscene – CANCELLED
2:50 – 4:20 pm Bridges Poetry Reading
“Shield 1” by Kerry Mitchell
The poetry reading at Bridges 2022 features poetry with strong links to mathematics, a great variety of topics, and a wide range of poetic styles. With great pleasure, we offer you the work of a diverse and exciting group of poets who will participate in this reading either in-person or with prerecorded videos. More poetic delights from the Bridges poets are found at the reading’s online component, the Bridges 2022 Poetry Reading website: https://www2.math.uconn.edu/~glaz/Mathematical_Poetry_at_Bridges/Bridges_2022/The-program-and-the-poets-2022.html
(D) 2.00-4.00 PM Map Coloring on Doughnuts
by Eve Torrence
In 1890 Percy Heawood showed that all maps on a torus (doughnut shape) could be colored using at most seven colors so that regions that share a boundary are different colors. We will explore this idea by coloring a map on a torus by hand. Colorful three-dimensional map coloring models from the Bridges Art Exhibition will be on display at this workshop.
(E) Tensegrity Polyhedra Models
by Mircea Draghicescu
We will build tensegrity models, and the participants can take home some of the models they create. Participation requires some manual skills. Suitable for adults and older children.
(F) Origami Geometry
by Veli-Matti Ikävalko, Alvar Nughara, Otso Lammi
https://www.aalto.fi/en/aalto-university-junior
The workshop combines the art of paper folding and mathematics with the help of origami. The workshop is for all ages and presented by Aalto University Junior.
(G) Polyhedra on a Shoe String: String and Straw and Finger Geometry
by Karl Schaffer
http://mathdance.org/
String figures, the imaginative designs created with simple loops of string, are found among the world’s most ancient cultures. We will use loops of rope and string to form polyhedra and other geometric designs. We can make similar entertaining mathematical shapes with fingers and hands. Paper straws held together by pipe cleaners also provide puzzle forms that fold into polyhedral shapes.
(H) Pentominoes
by Odette De Meulemeester
https://pentomino.classy.be/
A pentomino is a polygon in the plane made of 5 equal-sized squares connected edge-to-edge. In this workshop, you can make a pentomino swing, solve a pentomino-butterfly, and more.
(I) Surfaces in Mathematics and Clay
by Francesca Silverton
This activity aims to create collaborative artworks of 3D mathematics surfaces using clay surface textures.
(J) 2:00-5:00 PM Lego Maths and Twister Coding
by Khaula Zeeshan
Use a number of LEGOs to make your own LEGO constructions and practice counting to solve equations. We will also use the game Twister to explore coding.
(K) Virtual reality geometry in NeoTrie VR
by José L. Rodríguez
https://www2.ual.es/neotrie/comunidad/
We invite you to play with the virtual reality software NeoTrie VR. In virtual reality, you can try to construct various geometric shapes, such as polyhedra, mosaics, fractals, curves, and more. The workshop will showcase new activities created for the Geometrician’s Views Erasmus+ project and the FEDER-UAL “Immersive virtual reality in the math classroom with NeoTrie VR” project.
(L) Listen to a Shape
by Takako Udo
https://lal-lal.co.jp
There are a variety of shapes in our three-dimensional world, and many of them are not taught in school or seen in our ordinary life. We invite you to explore new shapes by participating in the following activities: 1. Draw Your Graph! / 2. Lift Your Graph! / 3. Polyhedral Apartment / 4. Listen to a Shape,
>>> Venue: 2nd Floor
(M) Cipher Disks and Magic Squares
by Bronna Butler and Jessica K. Sklar
https://sites.google.com/view/jessica-k-sklar/mathematical-art/qed-arts-llc
Craft your versions of Alberti cipher disks and exchange encrypted messages with friends and family. Explore magic squares and the polymath Albrecht Dürer’s mathematically-informed engraving, “Melencolia I.”
(N) Zine Machine
by Khushbu Kshirsagar
https://khushbukshirsagar.weebly.com/
Zine Machine is a paper-based activity comprising a math tinkering kit that uses two-dimensional mechanical movements to enable physical sense-making about mathematical functions. Zines are made by folding paper into the form of a pocket-sized story-telling magazine. Zine Machine facilitates new thinking around math and making, offering an accessible and creative tangible medium of interaction.
(O) 2.00-4.00 PM Travel back in time to experience ancient Mesopotamian mathematics!
by Aino Haavisto
How did Ancient Mesopotamians count? How did they write numbers? What does a 3000-year-old maths exercise look like, and are you ready to tackle it? Come to this workshop and find out!
>>> MUSEUM PROGRAMS
The National Museum of Finland is a national cultural history museum. As part of the Finnish Heritage Agency, we have the oldest and most comprehensive cultural history collections in Finland, with more than a million archaeological and historical objects. Our goal is to bring interesting perspectives on culture and history to a diverse audience. The program consists of permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as events, guided tours, and other experiences. The temporary exhibition of the moment is called Exploring the Ancient Near East, exhibiting the heritage of the area that is the birthplace of many mathematical inventions!
Culture and Maths are combined in this event in the National Museum of Finland. There will be guided tours in the exhibition Exploring the Ancient Near East and the architecture of the building that was designed by Eliel Saarinen, Armas Lindgren, and Herman Gesellius. You can also learn how to write cuneiform text in a workshop organized by the Making Home Abroad -project in our Ateljé-space.
Guided tours:
- 11.30 Public tour in Finnish: Arkkitehtuurin helmi (60 min)
- 13.30 Public tour in English: Exploring the Ancient Near East (30 mins)
- 14.30 Public tour in Finnish: Tutkimusmatkoja muinaiseen Lähi-itään (30min)
- 15.30 Public tour in English: The Jewel of Architecture (60 mins)
- 17.00 Guided walking tour in Finnish: Inspiraationa muinainen Lähi-itä (60 min, erillinen pääsymaksu/ special prize 20€)
- Workshop in the Ateljé: Travel back in time to experience ancient Mesopotamian mathematics!