MAGICAL MANDALAS
CD’s Inspired #PS 234!
Mon. & Tues. the 5th graders made mandalas. They were fired up by the idea of incorporating CD’s. After a slide presentation and discussion of the procedure (complete the planning sheet, find your lines of symmetry, sketch in pencil, color in the paper portion and, finally, the CD),
Giulia demonstrated her characteristic enthusiasm & creativity.
Matthia coordinated his with a complementary gem!
Haylah improvised a mechanism for making hers spin!
Stars and lotus were common themes,
as were geometric patterns.
Still others took a more fluid approach.
Gems Inspire #PS 41!
Highlights
See ‘Electricity & Paper Circuits’ page for student’s ILLUMINATED mandalas!
Mandala QR Gallery
Install the Aurasma app onto your smart device. In Aurasma search for ‘jtankel.’ Click ‘Follow’, then the viewfinder icon on the bottom of the screen. Scan the mandalas below to reveal…magic!
Resources:
Planning sheet:
Slide Presentation Highlights:
Bilateral Symmetry
http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/symmetry/symm.htm
http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/symmetry/refsym.htm
Click HERE for on-line resource on symmetry.
http://www.next.cc/journey/language/symmetry
Translational Symmetry
Glide Symmetry
Rotational Symmetry
Radial Symmetry
http://www.pearltrees.com/t/fibonacci-sacred-geometry/id3050894#item71829342
Click HERE for Interactive Mandala.
http://www.light-weaver.com/mandalas/moving-mandalas-1
Kaleidoscopic images, like mandalas, have multiple symmetries. Because they are constructed with mirrors, they have multiple reflected symmetries. And because the mirrors are attached point-to-point, they form radial or rotational symmetry as well. Mandalas have eight-sided, radial symmetry because Buddhists believe there are 8 pathways to Nirvana or Enlightenment, and so, eight is a very significant and auspicious number.
This symmetry reflects the order and balance of the universe, from the tiniest particle or organism to the universe itself. In Tibetan Buddhism, God is the Geometer of the universe and as such, sacred geometry ascribes symbolic and sacred meaning to certain geometric shapes and proportions. When things are asymmetrical or irregular, they do not fit as neatly into the perfect puzzle of molecular structure or of the universe. Which is not to say that asymmetry doesn’t have it’s own special place in nature and the universe.
Resource: https://www.geometrycode.com/sacred-geometry/
While mandalas have 8-sided symmetry, kaleidoscopes (and snowflakes) have 6-sided symmetry. Why? Because most kaleidoscopes are configured with 3 mirrors reflecting off one another. And the physical conditions under which snowflakes form reflect the physical laws of nature. It is, simply, what happens when atmospheric conditions (temperature and humidity) combine to create crystals. The snowflake is a visual representation of it’s own molecular structure!
Click link for INTERACTIVE Kaleidoscope.
http://permadi.com/java/spaint/spaint.html
Taking it 3D! Platonic Solids Resources
https://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/symmetry/unipol1.htm
Paper Models
http://www.korthalsaltes.com/ http://xploreandxpress.blogspot.com/2011/04/fun-with-mathematics-archimedian-solids.html https://isotropic.org/polyhedra/ http://www.cool-coloring-pages.com/paper-models-of-polyhedra/
http://fortran.orpheusweb.co.uk/Models/mobile.pdf
tankelteach 