Bright Idea.

I've been thinking about those two tours.  I wrote about them the other day.  I said I wanted to take the tours some day but I really don't have to wait.  I can use Google Maps, Google Street View and Google Earth to actually see the buildings one would see on both tours. 

In fact, I could take a copy of the map on the website or use Google Maps to find the routing for the tour.  Then using that map, I can navigate my way down the streets, turning where they turn so I can see the same things the visitors see.

Imagine being able to take that tour without ever leaving home.

Or how about taking a day to visit the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Taj Mahal, the Parthanon, the Gherkin in London, The Guggenheim Museum in Spain or any other mathematically interesting building or bridge.

This is the Millennium Bridge in London which opened in 2000.  On the day it opened 90,000 people walked across it and it wobbled so much, they shut it down 2 days later.  It was not reopened until 2002 because they had to install 91 dampers designed to absorb vertical and lateral oscillations.

Imagine being able to have students walk across the bridge using Google Earth.  It makes it more real and they get a better feel for the structure because Google Earth allows the person to travel along the bridge.

This would make a cool project scheduled for those times during the year when you can't do as much instruction due to it being the end of school or its the middle of testing, or other item.  You'd have students research mathematically interesting buildings and bridges. 

In addition providing actual statistics and data, they can use Google Earth and Street View.  Street view often gives a better perspective than Earth so the two used with each other is great.  Who said we can't take time to show real world applications of mathematics.

Have a good day and let me know what you think.  I think it would make things more real and interest students.