Exploring symmetry is a fun way to see math and art working together. My son is very mathematically inclined and whenever I can show him how patterns and systems can also be artistic (such as in our tessellations activity), he is becomes much more interested in art projects.
Symmetry art projects are easy!
All you need is:
- Paper (we used large sheets of white finger paint paper, but any plain paper is fine).
- Painting medium of your choice. We used glitter glue, our favorite dot makers and regular old tempera paint.
What you do:
Fold the paper in half, open it back up. Paint, squirt or smash to your heart's content on one side of the paper. Fold the clean side over the painted side and press hard, smoothing the paper. Voilà! (Unfortunately my camera battery died so I couldn't get photos of the process but I'm sure you understand the idea!)
Above left: using a brush and tempera paint. Next, he used glitter glue (above right). He heaped mounds and mounds of glitter glue on one side of the paper before smoothing it out. Boy, he loves that glitter glue.
Next he combined dot painters and glitter glue.
Kiddo loved discovering how symmetry worked! I think he felt rather powerful having a controlled system to create an image.
More math art projects:
It's impossible for me to let you leave without a book recommendation! (affiliate links below)
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