Press Release Archives

Fibonacci Day

8/5/2021

Celebrate Fibonacci Day with the Cade Museum

Gainesville, Florida, August 5, 2021—The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention is celebrating Fibonacci Day on Friday, August 13, 2021 from noon to 5 p.m.

Did you know the Cade Museum’s building was designed using the Fibonacci Sequence, a mathematical golden ratio? Learn more in architectural tours of the museum and grounds offered throughout the day. Read a mini-exhibit on Fibonacci numbers and learn hands-on how the numbers work in nature and design through activities and experiments.

While you may have heard of Pi Day celebrations, you likely haven’t heard of Fibonacci Day celebrations. That’s because they are so rare. August 13, 2021 (8-13-21) will be the last date that corresponds with the sequence until nearly a hundred years from now.

The Fibonacci sequence is named for Leonardo (Fibonacci) De Pisa who introduced the mathematical concept to Europe in the 11th century. The series of numbers starts with 0 and 1, and each number after is found by adding the two previous numbers (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...). The last “Fibonacci day” fell on May 8, 2013 (5-8-13) and the next will fall on January 1, 2102 (1-1-02).

The Fibonacci sequence is often referred to as the golden ratio. The numbers are related to spiral growth and are found in nature in the spirals of pinecones, pineapples, or snail shells and more. The numbers are associated with beauty and patterns that appeal to the eye. Renaissance architects often used the golden ratio in their building proportions and artists like Leonardo Da Vinci incorporated it into their paintings.

The Cade Museum was built using the golden ratio to create a sense of harmony, balance, and beauty in the physical space. It also represents the Cade’s mission to transform communities and the vision to spread an inventive mindset around the world.

“We took the classical divine proportion of the ancient Greeks and we put it on a spiral,” says Phoebe Cade Miles, co-founder of the Cade Museum. “The spiral starts in the very center of the rotunda. It spirals out and out and out. We actually tracked it through the whole world to see where the spiral would go and it’s pretty exciting.”

About the Cade Museum
The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention, a museum in Gainesville, Florida is committed to transforming communities by inspiring and equipping future inventors, entrepreneurs, and visionaries. Since opening in 2018, more than 100,000 visitors have experienced the Cade’s unique hands-on programming for children designed to spark imagination and inspire creativity. The Cade’s programs also help to build bridges to the innovation economy for those without access, low-income families, underserved communities, and those needing assistance to access education and start on the career paths available to them to fulfill their dreams. To learn more about the Cade Museum’s mission, visit cademuseum.org. Located at 811 S Main Street. Hours of operation: Friday-Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

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