A South Korean Adventure: Day Two: Experiencing Bridges 2014

Today we spent the entire day at the impressive Gwacheon National Science Museum where the Bridges Conference was being held. The keynote speakers kicked off the day clearly demonstrating the many connections between math and art. Minhyon Kim, from Oxford, spoke on arithmetic symmetry and demonstrated beautiful patterns created using regular polygons and random points. We also learned about Carlo Sequin's Lego Knots, a fabulous way to create 3d sculpture maquettes with snap together forms from a 3d printer. Click on his name to ready his paper and be sure to check out the artists that inspired his work: Henk van Putten, Paul Bloch and Bruce Beasley.

After the keynotes, we spent the day listening to ten different mini-sessions covering such topics as: Mathematical Sequencing and Artist's Books, Bubble Clusters, Mathematical Visual Poetry, Engaging Groups with Large-Scale Construction Events, and The Genius as a Characterization of The Creative Spirit in Mathematics and the Arts. Obviously, there was much food for thought in these presentations.

Which calls for us to report the chaos of lunch...........which we were told could be purchased on the second floor in the Food Court. We first stood in line to purchase our ticket, then waited for our order to be called - which easily took 1/2 hour. Children raced around the cafeteria, screaming and enjoying their day at the museum! Tables and chairs were at a premium - here one minute, moved the next. Not your typical USM lunchroom experience!

The welcome dinner was served from 7-9 PM - a delicious and plentiful array of Korean foods available for the taking. Entertainment was provided by a youthful jazz band throughout the meal.
The subway ride home seemed so short this time. Maybe the combination of colors and numbers (in the system) has made this easier for us to navigate?