Support for long-term classroom planning and professional development. Information covering important topics for today's educators and parents. The seven part videotape series, for grades 3 to 12, uses computer animation, live action video, and graphics to explain geometric shapes and principles. These videos are useful for viewing by individual students as well as a whole class, and are also intended for viewing by the teacher as a learning aid. This video begins by showing a snail's shell and demonstrating its relationship to the pattern of stars in a galaxy and to the principles of geometry.
Graphics explain how mathematics can be used to develop spirals shapes.
Animations demonstrate that the basic geometric shapes of circle, square, and triangle can be used to create elaborate shapes such as the Parthenon. Symmetry, including the symmetry found in the eyes in different species, asymmetric forms and dynamic symmetry, and the Golden Ratio are examples of the serious content presented in visual format. Other animations illustrate the form of the conic sections and show their usefulness in explaining the orbiting of planets and the parabolic arc of spacecrafts. Fractal, spherical, and hyperbolic geometries are also explored.