Mathematical Things to do This St. Patty's Day Weekend

As spring slowly thaws the ice from the ground, we celebrate the life of the foremost patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. The holiday is celebrated all over the world, with shamrocks and green clothing galore! Here is a list of a few (slightly) mathematical things you can do this weekend to celebrate.

             1. Pick Flowers             

If you are lucky, you might even find a four-leaf-clover, but even just getting out on a sunny day and enjoying the green foliage will have you enjoying the spring spirit. 

                                    

While you pick flowers, be sure to count the petals and maybe you can find the famous Fibonacci Sequence. 

         2. Ponder Differential Geometry         

Saint Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland, and there is a lot to think about when it comes to which path he took. was he thinking about path homeomorphisms, or the gradient of the hills as he walked from point A to point B? 

      3. Go to a Parade          

Parades can be fun for anyone, but if you have an itch to collect and analyze data, then look no farther than your local Saint Patty's Day Parade. Collect as many variables as you can based on the floats that go by, and see if you can find any correlations.

You might even meet another math fanatic at the festival!

          4. Dye Stuff Green           

Anything can be dyed green with a little bit of food coloring, from shirts to food and drink. Chicago even dyes their whole river green! see how much dye it takes to make a gallon of water green, then calculate the amount of dye Chicago uses to turn the Chicago River green.

Photos Curtesy of:

Pixbay

Downtown Indy

Ron Kimmel

City Metric