Learning to reason spatially is increasingly recognized as an essential component of geometry education. Generally taken to be the "ability to represent, generate, transform, communicate, document, and reflect on visual information," "spatial reasoning" uses the spatial relationships between objects to form ideas. Spatial thinking takes a variety…

The triangle congruence conditions are a central focus to nearly any course in Euclidean geometry. The author presents a hands-on activity that uses straws and pipe cleaners to explore and justify the triangle congruence conditions. (Contains 4 figures.)

A whimsical mathematics event for children and adults, derived from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was held at the Providence Children's Museum in Rhode Island. NCTM's Standards were the basis of all the activities. (Contains 10 figures and 1 table.)

In this article we describe a hands-on activity for a liberal arts mathematics course that focuses on the beauty and unity of mathematics. The purpose of the activity is to tie together several topics in the context of a "real-world" situation. These topics include: fractals, non-Euclidean geometry, symmetry, and Platonic solids. This activity…

Activities involving the drawing of kites and figures related to kites are described. (SD)

Curve stitching activities can be used to motivate calculus students. The problem described here involves showing that a given envelope of a curve is parabolic. (SD)

The nature of measurement, the standard measurement concepts are discussed in terms of children's preconceptions and activities for building measurement concepts through primary school instruction. A broad range of activities including counting, computation, calibration, and relating measure to size is presented. The metric system is briefly…

Topics for student projects in geometry are discussed; useful references are included. (JT)

Many fundamental geometric figures can not be constructed on the familiar square geoboard (e.g., equilateral triangle, regular hexagon). Activities which can be used with an isometric geoboard for study of these figures are catalogued. (SD)

A description of a planet in the shape of a cube where everything was built from squares and parts of squares is presented. The story is used as a background for several paper folding exercises that explore several geometric shapes. Solutions to the problems stated are included. (MP)

The use of solid cardboard geometric shapes as molds to make candles is presented as a possible mathematics enrichment activity. (MP)

Allowing students to use a polystyrene cutter to fashion their own three-dimensional models is suggested as a means of allowing individuals to experience problems and develop ideas related to solid geometry. A list of ideas that can lead to mathematical discovery is provided. (MP)

Presents activities to help students develop the notion of geometric congruence and similarity in a hands-on environment. (ASK)

Describes an activity in which geometry and trigonometry are studied using pyramids. Identical model pyramids are constructed from card stock, along with pyramids of different proportions and cuboids to use as controls. Also includes an investigation of some apparently non-scientific claims. (DDR)

Examines aspects of Navajo cosmology relevant to understanding Navajo spatial representations. Compares Navajo children's spatial knowledge with Piaget's findings about the development of geometric concepts in Swiss children. Describes classroom activities whereby Navajo children explore the geometry inherent in their cultural and physical…