Art + Math = Magic!! It's a trihexaflexagon!

This is a trihexaflexagon. It's got three sides that each change, or "rotate"once. This is one of the sides and its rotation. Confused?

One of the workshops that I taught at my recent state conference was a hands-on workshop where the participants each learned to make a trihexaflexagon, a tetratetraflexagon, and a kaleidocycle - all a bunch of fun combining art and math.

Last year I posted about these amazing constructions right here. If you want more specific details about the process of creating a flexagon, or how how I got started making them, please check out that post.

My students this year faced several "challenges" on this project. One was to incorporate their name, initials, or some other word on one segment. This was traced in mirror images around the hexagon using carbon paper, resulting in a kaleidoscopic design.

Another "challenge" was to design one side using a ruler to connect corners and then adding additional lines and curves as desired, "flexing" as they drew to make sure their design connected in all rotations.

A third "challenge" was a color challenge. Students needed to color one side of the flexagon using either complementary colors, triadic colors, or, as chosen by both the students below, an analagous color family.


Here's a couple more student examples.


Making these can be a starting point for many lessons. You can teach tessellation, M.C. Escher, and Islamic design, or you can use them to teach color, or symmetry, or many other concepts. And then there's the ruler and construction skills required in building them.

As you know, I'm retiring. But somehow I know this isn't the last time I'll be constructing a flexagon. I'm hooked!! Perhaps you will be, too?

Having fun with James Rizzi

My 2nd graders are loving the work of James Rizzi, who I had never heard of until reading blogs last year, especially Kristyn's blog Her Dabbles, where she has numerous Rizzi posts. His work is so child-friendly and fun, and my 2nd graders are making silly cars using old CD for wheels. Most of them aren't quite done, but I couldn't resist giving you an advance peek.

The people in Rizzi's cars have nice big heads filling the windows, with big eyes. But honestly, my kiddos got so into making the cars, that I had trouble getting them to make their people larger (and their eyes larger too). But I love the cars they are making anyhow!