A Tessellation Art (and Math) Project

While I have many fond memories of my 4th and 5th grade teacher Mrs. Williams, her annual tessellation project was a standout. What’s a tessellation? It’s a combination of math and art, probably made most famous by MC Escher. A shape repeats itself over-and-over across the canvas.

Tessellation Project Supplies

What’s so great about this mathy art project is its simplicity. You only need:

• an index card
• masking tape
• a marker
• a larger piece of paper
• whatever coloring supplies you’d like – even crayons are fine!

Step 1: The Cutting

To start their tessellation project, students create what is basically a puzzle piece. They make two cuts and then tape those cuts back onto the notecard.

1. Students cut out a bit from the left side of the index card.
2. They tape that bit onto the right side.
3. The card will now fit into itself (or tessellate) left to right.
4. Now, students cut out a bit from the top and tape it to the bottom of the index card.
5. The shape will now tessellate up and down as well as left to right.

Step 2: The Tracing

Students will now trace that puzzle piece over and over, fitting it into itself. I like to angle the paper so the piece moves diagonally across the page.

Step 3: The Decorating

Once the page is filled with outlines of that tessellating shape, students will begin to decorate. Often, the shape looks like an animal or a person. Kids can fill in the face or the wings or the fur or whatever details they’d like. If they see multiple designs, they can create a pattern or otherwise make their tessellation project more complex.

Give them some Escher exemplars and let your most clever artists go wild:

M.C. Escher’s Metamorphosis II