Do you know what a tetrahedron is? Crazy 8s kids do! Kids explored 3D shapes by making tetrahedrons (4 sides), cubes (6 sides) and octahedrons (8 sides) using glowsticks and foam balls then flicked off the lights to see their creations glow! Kids took their cubes to the next level to explore the “economies of scale” that happen when shapes share sides.
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.)
Then, check out our video to build the queen of them all, the dodecahedron. Click here for our printout.
Use fresh glowsticks and balls to make new shapes, or try toothpicks with melon balls or marshmallows! You can even use geometry and glowsticks to decorate for Halloween – learn how in Spotted on Halloween at Bedtime Math, our research-proven app that moves kids forward on math skills.