Of Butterflies and Mathematics
Friday, April 13, 2012 at 12:18PM April is the month when spring really begins to show its lovely side, with warmer temperatures and longer days taking hold. But did you know that April is also Mathematics Awareness Month? To celebrate, our 2/3 class completed a fun spring project that reinforced the important math concept of symmetry.
Butterflies are perfect examples of Reflection Symmetry, where one half of the object is the mirror image of the other. After studying some images of real butterflies, the students learned how to create their own. They folded a sheet of 12” x 18” drawing paper in half, then drew one half of their butterfly at the folded edge with black crayon, being careful to press down hard. Students were encouraged to be creative, adding any designs or patterns to their butterfly they chose.
Next they refolded the drawing with the crayon side facing inward. When they rubbed the backside of the drawing with a craft stick, the black crayon transferred to the other side of the paper. Open it up and you have a butterfly with perfect reflection symmetry! To add color to the butterflies the students painted them with watercolors. Again, color choice was up to each artist, the only rule was to color the wings the same on both sides to maintain the symmetry concept. The students amazed me with how well they “got” the idea, geometry here we come!
Our butterflies are currently perched on a tree limb in the art room, but you can view them all close up by clicking on the image below.
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