Age Range: 11-17 (Younger students will enjoy aspects of this site with parental assistance.)
“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!! Take some time to explore this site. You will be glad you did!” That was the recommendation I received from the ClickScholar who suggested this site that offers an array of resources including animations, science, and Incan history in order to help students learn Euclidean geometry.
She also wrote, “Did you know that from an airplane looking down at Peru you can see giant carvings (carved into the ground by ancient people thousands of years ago) in the likeness of a monkey, a hummingbird, and more? And did you know that this had anything at all to do with mathematics – or, more specifically, geometry?”
She is referring to the The Nazca Lines (sometimes referred to as “crop circles”). According to the website, “They are a set of zoomorphic, phytomorphic and geometric figures (lines, triangles, trapezoids, circles, spirals, birds, a spider, a monkey, flowers) that appear engraved in the surface of the Nazca desert…in southern Peru. The Nazca Lines are one of the mysteries of the ancient world. They are the most outstanding group of geoglyphs (drawings on the ground) in the world.”
They are believed to have been created by The Incas during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Incas were a civilization in western South America near Cuzco, Peru. You may have heard of Machu Picchu, an ancient fortress city of the Incas in the Andes Mountains. The Incas were superb craftsmen and architect-engineers.
When you get to the website you can explore the Nazca Lines while getting multi-media lessons in Geometry. You’ll find geometry problems with step-by-step solutions, proofs, colorful animations, quizzes, puzzles, quotations, videos, and more.
From the homepage, you can click on the featured illustration to enter the site, or scroll down the page to find the “Table of Content” and access the areas that interest you. Scroll below that to find an assortment of recent additions to the site including an exploration of “Stonehenge and Geometry.”
From the Table of Content, be sure to click on “Videos” where you’ll find an eclectic selection of geometry-themed “You Tube” presentations about the Nazca Lines and Indiana Jones, Crop Circles, Waldorf Geometry, Math Humor, music, cultural information, art, and even a video titled, “Teaching Geometry and Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land.”
Again, there is lots of content here – so much, in fact, that I wasn’t able to review it all. Therefore, as always, parents should preview the site to determine suitability for your own children. Bookmark this site, you’ll want to return often.
