STEAM (STEM + ARTS) News in Review: 07/24/20
Our STEAM (STEM + Arts) News in Review for this week. Below are the articles we read and wanted to share. Enjoy!
How is it that children cope with a global pandemic such as COVID-19? The answer is simple: They play. Children always play. This article discusses the many ways in which children play, with or without the toys. Children are bright and, through play, they make use of materials that one may not typically see as a toy to play with. Through play, we see a build-up of energy, resilience, team work, and enlightenment. Read this article to learn more about how children play, and the importance behind these various forms.
The former head of robotics at Google may have just unveiled one of the most spectacular inventions of the decade. Aaron Edsinger and co-developer Charlie Kemp have been working on a home-assistant robot, which they call “Stretch.” The goal is for Stretch to be able to accomplish hands-on, light-weight tasks and chores around the house, such as vacuuming, rearranging books on the bookshelf, or removing clothes from the dryer upon voice commands. Unlike most robots, Stretch is compact and easy to transport. Read on to learn more about the invention of the future.
TechXplore: Ex-Google robotics head unveils automated home assistant
In the face of COVID-19, museums went down—big time. Now, they must find alternative ways to build back funds; even when they do open, the number of visitors will be nowhere near the usual, due to fear, lack of tourists, etc. This article discusses one way that has become increasingly popular amongst museums in Europe, and soon enough the US, to make a “much-needed income.” Read on to find out where you can purchase such exquisite masks and to get a preview of what some of them look like.
NYTimes: The New Must-Have Museum Souvenir - Face Masks
The field of mathematics has so many applications and purposes in life. In last week’s blog post, for example, we learned about a math-inspired clothing line. On the other hand, this week’s article discusses how math has been applied to art. Featured and pictured in this article, are a number of famous and brilliant works of art, that were visibly inspired by math. As a matter of fact, certain artists such as Robert Fathauer, discussed in this article, have been labeled as “math artists.” Read on to learn about the yearly Joint Mathematics Meeting, as well as visualize what math in art looks like.
ScienceNewsforStudents: For these artists, math is their muse
Over the years, competitive eating has become a major source of entertainment for the public. This article discusses Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, an event that takes place every Fourth of July, in which famous competitive eaters compete to see who can eat the most hot dogs. Despite one man’s ability to eat 75 hot dogs, studies and mathematical equations have revealed that the performance limit is even greater than that. One tip of advice: Don’t try this at home!
ScienceMag: How many hot dogs can a person really scarf down in 10 minutes?