Sunday, July 13, 2008

Synaesthetic dessert

Cuisenaire rods
Cuisenaire rods,
originally uploaded by your neighborhood librarian.
One is white, two bright red, three lime-green and so on. When I first heard about the synaesthetic association between numerals and colors, something like this came to mind, but it wasn't until later that I could identify the source: Cuisenaire rods. How like a perfectly-trimmed carrot stick the mighty orange Ten looked! The succulent purple grape color of the Four!

I think it might be a nice idea for a primary-school teacher's going-away party to make edible Cuisenaire rods out of agar, fruit juice, and appropriate coloring. Arrange the rods to illustrate mathematical problems, but be prepared for the guests to play with their food afterward.
Has someone already done this? I would like to see how it turned out.

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