Jennifer Swanson - STEM Tuesday

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the fourth Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math! Today we’re interviewing Karen Latchana Kenney, author of FOLDING TECH: Using Origami and Nature to Revolutionize Technology. Booklist says, “From folded cranes to collapsible solar sails, this offering provides an enticing look at a unique STEAM crossover.” Mary Kay Carson: How did you come to write Folding Tech? Karen Latchana Kenney: My editor Domenica DiPiazza at Lerner Publishing approached me with this topic after watching the PBS documentary The Origami Revolution. I loved the idea of connecting art with technology and wanted to expand it even more. I had questions—what other influences could help engineers find new folding techniques? And why is folding technology so important—what is it used for? I found that folding technology is important in space, due to the spatial and weight restrictions necessary for rockets to reach Earth’s escape velocity. So, to get large solar arrays needed to power telescopes into space,...

Quantities and Questions Me, I like to analyze things. Pick them apart and put them back together again. And I’m not just talking about breaking into an old blender to see how it works. When I’m looking at a piece of writing, I do it too. Literary analysis usually comes in the form of studying symbolism, figurative language, etc. But what if we go past the words and dive into some numbers? How can we quantify a piece of writing? And what might we learn from that?   Counting Counts! Grab a book from this month’s theme list, flip open to any random 2-page spread and start counting. Start simple. How many paragraphs? Here’s what I found: Folding Tech 6.5 Cool Paper Folding 3 The Science of Fashion 5 This simple activity brought up questions: Is each speech bubble considered a paragraph? What about each bullet point? Within each book,...

Art may at first seem in opposition to logical pursuits like mathematics and engineering, but innovation comes from inspiration and creativity. Sometimes art can even help scientists see possibilities that seem absolutely illogical. Integrating art into STEM education opens doorways that allow inspiration and connections to come through. It can just be fun for student too. How can you use STEAM activities in your classroom? Check out some of our STEM Tuesday books for this month and try these activities with your students.   The Science and Technology of Leonardo da Vinci by Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan and Micah Rauch With a mix of invention, experimentation, and art, Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest thinkers of all time, gave the world a number of new insights into science, engineering, and much more. With STEM activities and questions to think about, this book encourages children to look at our world in a...

      Scientists follow a variety of paths as they engage in their work;  some of them may surprise you. Explore the intersection of art and science by looking at the titles below. You won’t be disappointed!             Folding Tech: Using Origami and Nature to Revolutionize Technology by Karen Kenney Origami, the ancient art of paper-folding is increasingly being used to stunning effects to solve some of the most pressing problems in the world today. This book takes a look at all those technologies that use folding – proteins, space probes, self-assembling robots, and many more.             The Science and Technology of Leonardo da Vinci by Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan and Micah Rauch With a mix of invention, experimentation, and art, Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest thinkers of all time, gave the world a number of new insights into...