You’ve heard of creative writing, but what about creative math? How many times have you been doodling little cartoony characters in your math class while wondering how this jumble of numbers and shapes might be of use to you later in life? Lucky for you, on August 26 Khan Academy and Pixar launched Pixar in a Box. The free online curriculum explains how math and science are used in the process of creating animated films.

Think Outside of the Box

Pixar in a Box was created by “out of the box” thinkers including Brit Cruise, from Khan Academy. “We’re trying to connect concepts you might not normally see connected,” Cruise told TFK. “Pixar in a Box is trying to show how ideas can be blended to solve real world problems.”

A special launch event took place on the Pixar campus in Emeryville, California. Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, and Ed Catmull, president of Pixar, shared their inspirations for the innovative program. “Pixar in a Box gives students a new way to engage with key academic concepts and see how creative these concepts can be,” Khan said.

When Math Meets Animation

“Math can be really hard. And if you don’t know why you’re learning it, you might not be motivated to keep working harder and harder,” explained Elyse Klaidman, director of Pixar University and Archives. “If you know that by learning to do this

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 math equation, you might be able to make some beautiful fields of grass in a movie like Brave, you will be interested.”

That brings us to your favorite Pixar characters. Merida from Brave is standing on grass that could not have been created without the help of parabolic arcs. Within the mind of Riley from Inside Out are memory orbs with surfaces smoothed out by subdivision. Here comes Woody, the guy with the body full of weighted averages!

Learn how weighted averages are used to create characters like Buzz Lightyear and Woody, or how simultaneous equations are used to paint all of Pixar’s images. “This first year will focus primarily on math, but future lessons will explore concepts such as science, computer science, arts, and humanities,” explained Cruise.

The free web resources show how Pixar’s filmmakers combine science, technology, engineering, art, and math to create movie magic. The curriculum covers math topics appropriate for kids from fifth grade through high school. Anyone can access these videos and interactive lessons for free at https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/pixar.

 

 
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Author: Cindy Zhou