Reflections on the math art project

The Fibonacci sequence- a classic, overused example for teaching recursion and dynamic programming in computing science. Considering that a slightly easier version of what gets taught in first-year university courses have made their way into high schools now, I suppose that a variation on the project can be used for a computer programming course (e.g. write a program that outputs the sequence up to a given user-specified limit; with some careful planning by the teacher, extend the program to draw the squares in their correct relative positions, and maybe even trace out the spiral too for bonus; et cetera). In addition, "history of mathematics" is making its way into BC classrooms now, and this project can probably be delivered almost as-is in conjunction with number systems of various civilizations (e.g. with Egyptian/Chinese/etc numbers).

I will admit, I did not know that the sequence actually appears in nature until we conducted research for the classroom activities portion. As much as life on universe entails consuming another life for survival and sudden, violent, unforeseen, unjustified tragedies, there are also moments of sheer awe and immaculate patterns, too. The Fibonacci sequence and the spiral recur in many different places if you know where to look. The pattern of bee ancestry just struck me because how it managed to be simple, fun, and relevant all at the same time!

We worked together well as a group. People immediately jumped in with what contributions they were willing to make. For the record, using the spirals as a variation/extension on the original art was my idea. The original work simply put the numbers in order, so (at least in my opinion) the spiral extension was right there. 

I must admit that cutting out and gluing felt pieces, drawing with a compass, et cetera all evoked some rather nostalgic feelings!