Neon. Sizzle. Fluorescent shapes on the floor. Are we talking about a disco? Nope – to your kids that sounds like math. In Crazy 8s’ Glow-in-the-Dark Geometry, they learned geometric shapes like no one ever has before!
Kids designed elaborate geometric lattices, linked together cubes to build “apartment buildings,” then flicked off the lights to see their creations glow. And they learned a cool Party Fun Fact: Only three regular polygons (all equal sides and angles) can be tiled to fit together perfectly. Can you guess what they are? (They are squares, equilateral triangles and hexagons.)
And you don’t have to go clubbing to keep the party going. Try out these activities at home:
- Find real life examples. Start with squares: windows, floors, graph paper, Dad’s shirts, checkered tablecloths. Then graduate to honeycombs and the shapes on a soccer ball!
- Build more 3-D shapes: The kids stuck glowsticks into styrofoam balls to learn another Party Fun Fact: There are only 5 3-D shapes that use all the same regular polygon. Can your kids name them? (They are tetrahedron, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron and icosahedron.)
You can pick up fresh glowsticks and balls to make new shapes, or try toothpicks with melon balls or marshmallows! Check out our video to build the queen of them all, the dodecahedron.
