Mark the specified lengths along the sides of the card.
This decoration and the size of A4 paper share an interesting property. Get hands on to find out more!
You will need
- A4 sheet of light card
- Pen
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Sticky tape
What to do
Making the pieces
-
Connect the marks to make 13 diamonds and some triangles.
Measure down the long sides of the sheet of card, and make marks at 50, 149 and 248 mm on each side.
- Measure along the short sides of the sheet of card, and make marks at 35, 105 and 175 mm on each side.
- Look at the bottom and left sides of your page. Take your ruler, and draw a line connecting the leftmost mark to the bottom mark.
- Now connect the middle mark to the middle mark, and finally the top mark to the right mark.
- Look at the bottom and right sides. Connect the rightmost mark to the bottom mark, the middle mark to the middle mark and the top mark to the left mark.
- Repeat this pattern around the top left and top right corners. Every line will be parallel to the lines in steps 3 to 5.
Tape two diamonds so they share a side with blunt angles together.
- Your card will be divided into 13 diamonds and some triangles. Cut out all the diamonds – you will need 12 of them to complete this activity.
Joining the pieces
- Make sure all 12 diamonds are exactly the same. Each diamond has two blunt angles and two pointy ones.
- Take two diamonds, and put them next to each other so they share a side. Make sure the blunt angles meet at the same point. Use sticky tape to hold them together.
- A third diamond needs to meet at the blunt angle.
Tape a third diamond to the first two, all meeting at the blunt angle. The model will not lay flat.
Take a diamond, and tape it to the first diamond, then the second, so the blunt angles on each diamond all meet at one point. The model will no longer lay flat.
- Find a place where two pointy angles meet. Two more pointy angles need to meet there. Tape the additional diamonds in place.
- Keep looking around your model. Wherever pointy angles meet, you need four diamonds to meet. Wherever blunt angles meet, you need three diamonds to meet. Eventually, the shape will bend around and make a ball!
What’s happening?
If you’re after more science activities for kids, subscribe to Double Helix magazine!
Tags:
Similar posts
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
By submitting this form, you give CSIRO permission to publish your comments on our websites. Please make sure the comments are your own. For more information please see our terms and conditions.
Newsletter
Sign up to our Double Helix newsletter
Stay in touch with new updates by signing up to our free newsletter
Advertisement
Leave a Reply