Between school, homework, practice and spending time with loved ones, it’s easy to miss out on the latest in science, technology, engineering, art and math. But don’t worry, Thinkery’s got you covered. Here are some of our favorite STEAM discoveries from the previous week. It’s fuel for your weekend.
How’s this for a sorting bin activity—without assistance, a kinetic machine is able to select and sort pebbles by their geologic age. Part of an ongoing research project, Jller was created by German artist Benjamin Maus and Czech artist Prokop Bartonicek. Working collaboratively with a computer vision system to analyze and map each stone, Jller is able to extract identifying information like dominant color, color composition, lines, layers, patterns, grain and surface texture. Once the pebble is properly identified, the machine places the stones in precise alignment of both age and type. Rock on!
From the largest known fish species alive (the whale shark) to a glow-in-the-dark shark that fits in the palm of your hand (the dwarf lanternshark), there are more than 500 different species of sharks swimming in the world’s oceans. This fun, informative and beautifully illustrated feature from National Geographic sizes up 13 different sharks. See how they stack up.
We seriously love lists—especially when they’re chock-full of interesting facts and tidbits. We recently shared 10 of our favorite space facts for National Space Day over on the Thinkery blog, and this new list from Science Alert is right up our alley. 10 mind-blowing scientific facts about black holes? Don’t mind if we do!
It seems like only yesterday technology was successfully able to interpret and reproduce the styles of famous painters. (Technically, it was less than a year ago.) But that’s old news. Now, a new computer algorithm is able to produce moving digital masterpieces by transforming scenes from movies into painting-like animations. “Ice Age” with a Starry Night twist? Sign us up! Click here to learn more about the artistic style transfer algorithm.