Van Gogh's “Olive tree with yellow sky and sun”, mathematics and origami

The idea is to make mathematical subjects more tangible and inclusive by folding origami and giving the possibility to see the beauty of mathematics in an artistic perspective. To reach this aim, we designed a STEAM project in an Italian school, from kindergarten to high school. For each class, we chose an artwork of a famous artist and we invited students to reproduce some special elements of the painting using origami model. During the folding process, we developed math lessons about a specific math topic. At the end of the lesson, students covered part of the painting using these models. The artistic production will be part of an exhibition. We present in this paper the details corresponding to the sessions with a 5th degree class, that choses the painting Olive Trees with Yellow Sky and Sun from Vincent Van Gogh.