National Coloring Book Day
August 2, 2016
Today is National Coloring Book Day. http://www.coloringbookday.com/
Who does not like to color?! Did you know that coloring can be very mathematical? The Four Color Theorem, which has a rich history from the 19th C to today. Read about the history at the Mac Tutor site listed below. Then, depending upon where your students are in their mathematical journey you can use the links below to find activities for basic coloring to investigating knots, networks and topology! Enjoy!
Four Color Theorem:
The four-color theorem states that any map in a plane can be colored using four-colors in such a way that regions sharing a common boundary (other than a single point) do not share the same color.
- Wolfram MathWorld:
- http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Four-ColorTheorem.html
The Four Color Theorem History: Mac Tutor St. Andrews:
http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/HistTopics/The_four_colour_theorem.html
The Four Color Theorem history with activities and other websites to explore: NRich:
The Four Colour Theorem video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANY7X-_wpNs
Math Is Fun activity: https://www.mathsisfun.com/activity/coloring.html
Nikoli.com (puzzle publisher in Japan) – more advanced coloring problems http://www.nikoli.com/en/take_a_break/four_color_problem/
