Mathematical Shapes Calendar, Origami
New Year, New calendar
Inspired by David Mitchell’s Mathematical Origami book , I started to think what about using an origami dodecahedron as a calendar! A quick search revealed it had been done!
Todd’s place will produce rhombic calendars in different languages, with or without guidelines, you can also change the font and colours too. However you will need to save as a PS file and then use the online converter detailed on the site.
Another great website with a wide variety of 3D shape Origami calendars are available from this website CDO.
The site is in Italian but this can be changed at the top, it also has printable worksheets in English and other languages. I found the guidelines on the printouts very useful.
This video below shows how to make one of my favourites and not just because it looks great but I also think it would be interesting to ask pupils work out the surface area of the completed shape.
To increase the difficulty pupils could use pencil and compass techniques to construct each of the faces and then construct! Great for extra curricular maths club!
Inspired by my colleague Sister Mary-Anne I have been thinking how else to use flexagons, and have found these on the Origami Resource Centre with a calendar based on a pentahexaflexagon by Ralph Jones.
Check out their website for templates like this (to the right ). Scroll down to Flexagon Calendars to download the 2013 printable worksheets to make your own and there are also links to video instructions.
Happy New Year to all Number Loving Readers! Get in touch @numberloving and check out our free and premium resources in our NumberLoving Store.