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Exploring math by exploring everything. Contact: tangents@exploratorium.edu
by Paul Dancstep • May 9, 2017
We've been looking at some of our exhibits using a scanning electron microscope. In this installment of the series we take a closer look at some styrofoam from the exhibit Dance Of Opposites.
by Paul Dancstep • April 21, 2017
We've been looking at some of our exhibits using a scanning electron microscope. In this installment of the series we take a closer look at some garnet sand from the exhibit Spinning Blackboard.
by Paul Dancstep • April 7, 2017
We've been looking at some of our exhibits using a scanning electron microscope. In this installment of the series we take a closer look at some iron filings from the exhibit Black Sand.
by Paul Dancstep • March 28, 2017
We've been looking at some of our exhibits using a scanning electron microscope. In this installment of the series we take a closer look at some chalk from the exhibit Through the Looking Glass.
by Paul Dancstep • February 8, 2017
In an extraordinary mission to rescue 16 kidnapped soldiers, the Colombian army turned to pop music to send the hostages a secret message.
by Paul Dancstep • February 1, 2017
This talk explores some of the ways we use mathematics to make sense of the world around us. It also looks at some ideas for how the subject could be taught. This was the keynote presentation from the Next Generation Science Standards STEM conference at the Exploratorium.
by Paul Dancstep • January 20, 2017
Jeremiah Denton was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. While still in captivity, Denton appeared in a televised interview during which he managed to communicate with U.S. forces using an ingenious and cleverly disguised code.
by Paul Dancstep • January 4, 2017
Consider the stadium wave: a spontaneous group behavior in which people seated in sporting arenas rise and cheer in a pattern that resembles a traveling wave. In this post we explore what it takes to get a wave started.
by Paul Dancstep • December 2, 2016
A certain spiral pattern commonly seen in sunflowers, pinecones, and many species of cacti contains some surprising numerical properties. In this brisk talk, Paul Dancstep investigates this pattern through several kinetic sculptures by artist John Edmark.
by Paul Dancstep • November 3, 2016
Voting is a tool that groups use when they need to make a collective decision. But how effective is this tool? In this video we explore some of the ways in which the democratic process can go wrong.
