Fractal Fun at Hamline Elementary

By JESSICA KOPP

On a lovely late September afternoon, nearly 100 third and fourth grade Hamline Elementary students were treated to math “outside the box” and “outside the classroom” thanks to an event organized by the Hamline University Mathematics Department, Math Club, and the Sustainability Thrive Team. The “Fractals Tie Dye Event” took place outside Anderson Center and began with small group lessons about fractals—a never-ending self-repeating pattern—and ended with students tie-dying their own fractal patterns in t-shirts. It was a beautiful and messy project, and each shirt was as individual as the student who made it. Big thanks to our friends at Hamline University for this mathematically artistic experience!