Author: Bard Math Circle

I think that SET is my favorite Math Circle game. Not only is it challenging and fast-paced, but it has a great community aspect to it: players can join in during the middle of the game, or choose to play for a few minutes. A friend of mine found a SET app on her phone the other day, so we were playing while at a local Open-Mic night. A second friend saw it, played with us until she found a SET, and then returned to her group. It’s that fast, and that fun.

Another way to play SET is to visit this website. There are 12 cards on the table and 6 SETs that you must find; every day there is a new puzzle. How long does it take you to find them all? My record is 42 seconds–can you beat that?

I just added the Bard Math Circle calendar to this blog. It’s in the right column, in agenda form. I added a gadget, and searched for one that adds a calendar. Easier than I thought it would be!

This means that we should start populating the calendar with Fall semester events.

We now have a logo! Featured on the right side of this page, you’ll see a version of the Fibonacci Spiral, designed by artist David Levine. The Fibonacci Spiral consists of squares, each with a 90 degree arc, arranged in a spiral form. The dimensions of the rectangle are consecutive Fibonacci numbers, and thus approximate the Golden Ratio.

We’re looking forward to featuring this logo on all Bard Math Circle materials!

When I learned that Marlboro Brownie Troop 60050 need to earn their Math Fun Badge I knew just how to help them. My daughter Jordan is in the troop and I spoke to the troop leader Rosemary Greiner and volunteered my Math Circle games! She was enthusiastic and I planned a fun evening for the girls.

The games were set up at different centers. The one player games were at one center, the SET game was at another center, two player games were at a third center and I had a worksheet of fun math problems at the fourth center. Since the girls needed five activities to get the badge Rosemary also counted when they each took turns being the cashier at their Girl Scout Cookie Booth Sale.

At the end of the night they earned their Math Fun Badge and I can honestly say everyone had fun and they were using and improving math skills!

The Bard Math Circle is starting a blog! Traditionally, first programs in Computer Science do nothing other than print out the message “Hello World!”, and this seems fitting.

I’ve invited some authors, each has permission to post messages. Let’s use this summer to try out blogspot features. The goal is to master them before we start the fall semester.

Japheth