Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Exploring balance and centres of mass can be great fun. The resulting structures can seem impossible. Here are some images to encourage you to experiment with non-breakable objects of your own.
This package contains hands-on code breaking activities based on the Enigma Schools Project. Suitable for Stages 2, 3 and 4.
Make some celtic knot patterns using tiling techniques
These models have appeared around the Centre for Mathematical Sciences. Perhaps you would like to try to make some similar models of your own.
This article for pupils gives an introduction to Celtic knotwork patterns and a feel for how you can draw them.
Make a spiral mobile.
Make an equilateral triangle by folding paper and use it to make patterns of your own.
You could use just coloured pencils and paper to create this design, but it will be more eye-catching if you can get hold of hammer, nails and string.
This article for students gives some instructions about how to make some different braids.
It might seem impossible but it is possible. How can you cut a playing card to make a hole big enough to walk through?
In this article for teachers, Bernard uses some problems to suggest that once a numerical pattern has been spotted from a practical starting point, going back to the practical can help explain. . . .
Galileo, a famous inventor who lived about 400 years ago, came up with an idea similar to this for making a time measuring instrument. Can you turn your pendulum into an accurate minute timer?
Use the tangram pieces to make our pictures, or to design some of your own!
A description of how to make the five Platonic solids out of paper.
More Logo for beginners. Now learn more about the REPEAT command.
Learn how to draw circles using Logo. Wait a minute! Are they really circles? If not what are they?
Follow these instructions to make a three-piece and/or seven-piece tangram.
This is the second in a twelve part introduction to Logo for beginners. In this part you learn to draw polygons.
Learn about Pen Up and Pen Down in Logo
A game to make and play based on the number line.
Arrange your fences to make the largest rectangular space you can. Try with four fences, then five, then six etc.
Make a mobius band and investigate its properties.
Make your own double-sided magic square. But can you complete both sides once you've made the pieces?
Make a ball from triangles!
Have you noticed that triangles are used in manmade structures? Perhaps there is a good reason for this? 'Test a Triangle' and see how rigid triangles are.
Using these kite and dart templates, you could try to recreate part of Penrose's famous tessellation or design one yourself.
Did you know mazes tell stories? Find out more about mazes and make one of your own.
Can you make the birds from the egg tangram?
Have a go at drawing these stars which use six points drawn around a circle. Perhaps you can create your own designs?
Ideas for practical ways of representing data such as Venn and Carroll diagrams.
Make a cube with three strips of paper. Colour three faces or use the numbers 1 to 6 to make a die.
Surprise your friends with this magic square trick.
How can you make a curve from straight strips of paper?
If these balls are put on a line with each ball touching the one in front and the one behind, which arrangement makes the shortest line of balls?
Can you order pictures of the development of a frog from frogspawn and of a bean seed growing into a plant?
Follow the diagrams to make this patchwork piece, based on an octagon in a square.
This project challenges you to work out the number of cubes hidden under a cloth. What questions would you like to ask?
Ahmed is making rods using different numbers of cubes. Which rod is twice the length of his first rod?
Use the three triangles to fill these outline shapes. Perhaps you can create some of your own shapes for a friend to fill?
Follow these instructions to make a five-pointed snowflake from a square of paper.
How does the time of dawn and dusk vary? What about the Moon, how does that change from night to night? Is the Sun always the same? Gather data to help you explore these questions.
What shapes can you make by folding an A4 piece of paper?
What shape and size of drinks mat is best for flipping and catching?
It's hard to make a snowflake with six perfect lines of symmetry, but it's fun to try!
Take a counter and surround it by a ring of other counters that MUST touch two others. How many are needed?
Here are some ideas to try in the classroom for using counters to investigate number patterns.
Kate has eight multilink cubes. She has two red ones, two yellow, two green and two blue. She wants to fit them together to make a cube so that each colour shows on each face just once.
You have a set of the digits from 0 – 9. Can you arrange these in the 5 boxes to make two-digit numbers as close to the targets as possible?
Kaia is sure that her father has worn a particular tie twice a week in at least five of the last ten weeks, but her father disagrees. Who do you think is right?
If you'd like to know more about Primary Maths Masterclasses, this is the package to read! Find out about current groups in your region or how to set up your own.