Tangram is an old oriental puzzle made of figures obtained by cutting a square into 7 parts in a special way: 2 large triangles, one medium, 2 small triangles, a square and a parallelogram. As a result of folding these parts together, flat figures are obtained, the outlines of which resemble all kinds of objects, from humans, animals to tools and household items. These kinds of puzzles are often called "geometric constructors", "cardboard puzzles" or "split puzzles".
With a tangram, a child will learn to analyze images, highlight geometric shapes in them, learn to visually break a whole object into parts, and vice versa - compose a given model from elements, and most importantly, think logically.
How to make a tangram
Tangram can be made from cardboard or paper by printing a template and cutting along the lines. You can download and print the diagram of the tangram square by clicking on the picture and choosing "print" or "save picture as ...".
It is possible without a template. We draw a diagonal in the square - it turns out 2 triangles. Cut one of them in half into 2 small triangles. Mark the middle on each side of the second large triangle. Cut off the middle triangle and the rest of the figures at these marks. There are other options for how to draw a tangram, but when you cut it into pieces, they will be exactly the same.
A more practical and durable tangram can be cut from a rigid office folder or a plastic DVD box. You can complicate your task a little by cutting out a tangram from pieces of different felt, sweeping them around the edges, or even from plywood or wood.
How to play tangram
Each piece of the game must be made up of seven tangram parts, and they must not overlap.
The easiest option for preschoolers 4-5 years old is to assemble figures according to the diagrams (answers) lined with elements, like a mosaic. With a little practice, the child will learn how to make shapes according to the contour model and even come up with his own shapes according to the same principle.
Schemes and figures of the tangram game
Recently, tangram is often used by designers. The most successful use of tangram is, perhaps, as furniture. There are tangram tables, transformable upholstered furniture, and cabinet furniture. All furniture built according to the tangram principle is quite comfortable and functional. It can change depending on the mood and desires of the owner. How many different options and combinations can be made from triangular, square and quadrangular shelves. When buying such furniture, along with the instructions, the buyer is given several sheets with pictures on different topics that can be folded from these shelves.In the living room, you can hang shelves in the form of people, in the nursery, cats, hares and birds can be folded from the same shelves, and in the dining room or library - a drawing can be on a construction theme - houses, castles, temples.
Here is such a multifunctional tangram.
Pentamino is one of the world's most popular puzzles, reaching its peak in the late 1960s. The game itself was described in detail in the journal Science and Life. Both children and adults can play this puzzle.
The Pentomino puzzle was patented by Solomon Wolf Golomb, a Baltimore resident, mathematician and engineer, professor at the University of Southern California. The game consists of flat figures, each of which consists of five identical squares connected by sides, hence the name. There is another version of the Tetramino puzzles, consisting of four squares, from this game the famous Tetris originated.
Elements of Pentomino
The game set "Pentamino" consists of 12 figures. Each figure is designated by a Latin letter, the shape of which it resembles. When solving problems and puzzles, figures can be twisted and turned over, so when making a game with your own hands, make the elements double-sided.
Popular puzzles
Games and toys based on Pentamino
Now in online stores you can find games and puzzles made on the basis of Pentamino elements.
DIY pentomino
We offer to make the elements of the game out of thick cardboard or plastic and glue them over with colored paper or adhesive film. Below is a variant of production from cardboard.
- We draw each element on hard cardboard or plastic. It is better to draw each element separately, without folding into a rectangle - this will make it easier to cut.
- Cut out the first “U” shape, recheck the dimensions. Next, we cut out all the other elements, making sure that they easily fit into the “U” element with their convex parts. We cut, if necessary, excess. The photo shows elements with a square module size of 2.5 x 2.5 centimeters.
- We circle the finished cardboard element on colored paper folded in half and cut out two colored parts at once. It is better to make colored parts a little smaller than cardboard ones, and they stick better, and the edges will not come off from frequent use.
- We glue colored paper from both sides to cardboard.
- We find a box for storing parts, where we will also put schemes and tasks for the game later. Diagrams can be printed on the site, or you can draw and paint on a notebook sheet in a box.
Pentamino is a very popular logic game and puzzle at the same time. The elements in the game are flat figures, each of which consists of five identical squares. A total of 12 elements are involved in the game.
Here's a look at the picture - this is how the pentomino parts look. Making such a game is quite simple.
Print this sheet here and paste it onto the cardboard. leave under pressure (books, albums) until dry. Cut the pieces. The game is ready.
If you have a color printer, you can print this template. By the way, in this picture one of the tasks is to assemble a rectangle from all the parts without "holes". This is the most common task in pentamino - to fold out of all the figures, without overlaps and gaps, a rectangle. Since each of the 12 shapes includes 5 squares, the rectangle must be 60 unit squares in area. Possible rectangles are 6 × 10, 5 × 12, 4 × 15, and 3 × 20.
And these are task cards for toddlers. See what interesting figures you can put together from the pieces of the puzzle.
And finally, a small hint to the tasks and a couple more tasks just like that.
