Another exhibit idea, another exploration of “Math in Nature”. This tree is constructed of one part . The tree is made in an iterative manner, the recipe is
1. scale down the part
2. add the scaled down parts to every open end.
3. do this over and over again.

The climbing structure I have in mind for our “Geometry Playground” exhibition would have more branches, just a simple drawing for a start. I added a lot of detail to one branch (on the table). It’s fascinating to come closer and closer and discover more and more tiny details (see last picture).

This tree has 10 iterations, each one is a different color. Each iteration has 3 times more parts than the one before: 1 trunk, 3 big branches, 3*3=9 smaller ones, then 3*3*3=27 smaller ones, etc (I don’t show all the small twigs in the drawing).

I imagine visitors climbing but also building (at the table). They add twigs or new iterations, and go down to a scale where they need a magnifying glass to build. In the drawing the twigs are 12 times smaller than the trunk.

Small scale exhibit

From Fractalclimber

Scale change by one order of magnitude

“This is the third year that Maker Faire has packed the San Mateo Fairgrounds with the best and brightest of the burgeoning DIY community–mobile barcalougers, dueling Tesla coils, huge Burning Man art pieces, felt masterpieces, and on and on–…”

The Exploratorium was strong this year with an ever-changing booth showing dozens of our projects. Check out Luigi’s photo stream on Flickr including two of my exhibits, “Sand Flowers”, and “Video Feedback Experiment” (click on the photo below).