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Greetings from Math Cats! July 13th is Math Cats' second birthday; on this date two years ago, the Math Cats' magic chalkboard first appeared in cyberspace and the site gradually began growing from there. We're having a Math Cats birthday celebration all weekend; please stop by for a visit!

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     WHAT'S NEW AT MATH CATS
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* TRIANGLE STAND
http://www.mathcats.com/crafts/trianglestand.html

Make a pyramid-shaped picture stand using six pencils, chopsticks, or twigs and a few rubber bands. It's cute and easy!

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     MAKE A MATH NECKLACE
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A friend dropped me this note the other day:

"Who else will appreciate this story but the Prime Mathcat? Ben came home with a necklace he made in arts and crafts yesterday. It had one basketball bead, then one football bead, then two soccer beads, then three baseball beads, then 5 of some other sport bead, then eight of another sport bead, and finally, 13 of the final type of bead. He asked me if I could identify the pattern. I could! Then he asked if I knew what the pattern was called. I didn't. So he told me - the Fibonacci numbers - and walked away grinning with pride.

I bet he is the only camper who has used the Fibonacci numbers to make a necklace in a long time, don't you think?"

Well, maybe a few friends of Math Cats will be inspired to make other necklaces of integer sequences, too -- Fibonacci or otherwise. If you'd like your necklace to be symmetrical, you could start in the middle and build the sequence in both directions on the cord, until you run out of room. (A symmetrical Fibonacci necklace of small beads might look like this, with the 1's in the middle: 13, 8, 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13)

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     SPOTLIGHT ON A SITE
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* FIBONACCI NUMBERS, THE GOLDEN SECTION, AND THE GOLDEN STRING
http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fib.html

This comprehensive site might look intimidating on first glance, but follow the link from the home page to "Fibonacci Numbers and Nature," for instance, for a well-illustrated, interesting treatment with plenty of suggested hands-on activities.

* ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF INTEGER SEQUENCES
http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/Seis.html

Fibonacci might be one of the more well-known number sequences, but did you know that there are over 67,000 integer sequences organized online into a searchable database? This site is definitely not for the very young or the faint of heart! But older Math Cats might enjoy taking a peek at the puzzle sequences page or at a few other random pages from the site.

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     RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT
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* SOMA BLOCKS
http://www.mathcats.com/grownupcats/geometrykits.html#soma

Let's finish with something easier!! Soma blocks are sets of seven blocks formed from clusters of 3 or 4 small cubes. It's fun and stimulating to use the blocks to form dozens (or hundreds, or thousands!) of different figures, starting with a 3 x 3 x 3 cube. In Math Cats' new section on Soma blocks, at the bottom of the page on geometric construction sets, you'll find photos, links to resources for making or purchasing sets of Soma blocks, and a link to diagrams of thousands of Soma figures. Making your own Soma blocks can be a rewarding family or class project; they make great gifts, too.

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     KEEP IN TOUCH
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Please drop me a line if you've got a fun math activity to share (or if your e-mail address is changing).

I've begun collaborating with a few teachers on short-term and long-term class math projects which I hope to be posting on Math Cats during the coming school year. I'd love to brainstorm with you, too.

Take care... and much as I love cyberspace, I hope we all remember to get plenty of fresh air and exercise, too!

Wendy Petti of Math Cats
mathcats.com
wpetti@mathcats.com