What's new

tiling posts

Try a tangram Activity

by David Shaw, 20 July 2022 | 0 comments

a duck shape made of smaller shapes

This traditional Chinese puzzle, known as a tangram, reveals some surprising properties of squares!

Continue reading Try a tangram

Categories:

Pack it in with pentagons News

by David Shaw, 23 January 2018 | 0 comments

Image of a grid, each square is a differrent colour and divided up by different shaped pentagons.

What kinds of shapes pack a flat surface with no gaps? Squares are great for floor tiles, and bees stick hexagons together. With a bit of work, you can get any triangle, no matter how stretched, to fit together without gaps. But what about pentagons? These five-sided shapes are awkward, but some types fit together.

Continue reading Pack it in with pentagons

Categories:

New tessellation discovered News

by David Shaw, 31 August 2015 | 0 comments

If you wanted a really cool bathroom, what shape would you use for the tiles? Squares will work, or rectangles, or even hexagons. But can we use five-sided tiles?

Continue reading New tessellation discovered

Categories:

Tessellation explorer Activity

by David Shaw, 28 August 2015 | 0 comments

Arranged around one corner there is a hexagon, square, triangle, square.

Think your bathroom is boring? Try tons of terrific tessellations and show that tiling is styling! Find out more about the maths of tessellation in this hands-on maths activity.

Continue reading Tessellation explorer

Categories:

Tessellating tiles Activity

by David Shaw, 10 June 2014 | 0 comments

A square of paper with chiunks cut out of each side and taped on the opposite.

Would you like to make your own repeating patterns, a la Escher? Grab some scissors and make some tessellating tiles!

Continue reading Tessellating tiles

Categories:

Double helix cover

Double Helix

If you're after more activities for kids sign up today!