Ever scratch your head wondering how to make a coffin shaped paper box? OK, I haven’t either, but now that I’ve thought about it, I’m curious. The thing that sparked my musings, about coffin-shaped boxes, paper polygons, “exploding boxes” (no actual explosives involved) and even a paper icosahedron—along with other paper platonic solids—is a fascinating … Continue reading
Sometimes even the most interesting creative project can start to feel like a burden. Experiments don’t work and have to be redesigned. Poetry needs editing. Interviews have to be transcribed and paintings need work. Those moments, when the initial inspiration and excitement have to give way to persistence and hard work, can be particularly discouraging … Continue reading
We are soon to have another actor in the family! My husband has worked in theater for many years so much of our life has revolved around the show-of-the-moment. We can recite dialog from one show or another for almost any occasion. Now we are becoming enmeshed in a different theatrical form, as our nephew … Continue reading
The Periodic Table is having a birthday! In March, it will be 150 years since the Russian scientist, Dmitri Mendeleev, took all of the 63 known elements and arranged them into a table. Today the Periodic Table contains over 100 elements and is found in chemistry classes and labs around the world. One of my … Continue reading
I’m not a sports fan. I almost never care who wins the Super Bowl. I’ll admit this year I rooted for the Pats, but that’s mostly because the older I get, the more I appreciate Tom Brady’s longevity. But regardless, when the Super Bowl comes, I want to see the ads. This year my favorite … Continue reading
You can tell my friends know me well when I receive children’s books and puppets for Christmas. This year I received both. One of the books, Bread Bread Bread, reminded me of an experience I had visiting Paris last year. At the time I visited, an International Festival of Bread was being held just across … Continue reading
Here’s a special post for those of you who, as I do, live in places facing record-breaking windchill temperatures this week. All of us wait anxiously to learn which activities are moving forward and which are cancelled due to snow. And, of course, everyone listens for school snow days. This week some clever administrators from … Continue reading
Whew! Is anyone else feeling as if the new year is progressing at warp speed? After several weeks of madly finishing fall semester, celebrating the holidays, and building courses for the winter semester, classes have started and I can take a breath again. Fortunately, along came Google Doodle to make me smile–and perhaps provide just … Continue reading
I love it when I hear stories of students whose creative contributions astound me and bring me hope. That’s how I felt when I read about the students in the Creative Musical Arts and Sciences program at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, AZ. These students, in high school, are earning music credits while essentially operating … Continue reading
Halloween seems to get bigger every year. While I’m saddened to see the free-range trick-or-treating of my childhood wane, I still love the imagination with which so many young people (and their parents!) embrace the season. And, of course, in my household full of black cats, I need to put up a few appropriate decorations. … Continue reading
