Cool Math Stuff At Getty Villa

 As you read this column, I am in Los Angeles area going to a weekend full of educational things.  As part of the offerings, we could pay a bit extra and enjoy a tour of the Getty Villa.  I'd never been there but I found so much math stuff there that it was great. I've chosen some wonderful pictures showing certain mathematical concepts or principles.

As you enter, there is a great garden area that is symmetrical.  The symmetry runs down the middle of the water area so the left and right sides are the same.  If there is a grape vine covered walkway on the left, there is another one on the right.  So very nice. The photo is taken from the end and side so you can see both.

Every garden that was built around the  villa is totally symmetrical.  They usually have one line of symmetry running the long way as if you could fold it in half.

Then along the walkways running along the edge of the garden at the beginning are several wonderful patterned squares with so many nice geometric  patterns. There are four different squares that repeat at least twice in the walk way on each side of the garden.

If students every wonder when they will have to read Roman numerals?  I found some at the entrance and exit of every room.  The rooms are numbered with roman numerals so it was really cool.

I found some really cool floor patterns that were made of repeated patterns such as this cool one which uses a bunch of Isosceles triangles repeated to form a circular pattern.  Following them are other interesting patterns I found throughout the villa.

I spent so much time oohing and awing over the symmetry, patterns, and Roman numerals I saw throughout the whole building.  Have a great weekend.