Shape Space Exhibit - Providence Children's Museum

Talk shape talk, create patterns and build shapes for the show-off shelf. With blocks, puzzles and geometric challenges, explore the world in two and three dimensions.

It's a 3-D world! Nothing in the real world is actually two-dimensional; all things have height, length and depth. We use 2-D (as in drawings) to illustrate three-dimensional reality. Shape Space re-forms what is often the abstract study of geometry into concrete experiences, drawing on children's own knowledge and learning styles to build understanding of spatial relationships.

Children and grown-ups assemble flat shapes to create regular and amazingly complex polyhedra, experiment with tessellating patterns, rearrange seven simple shapes to form a bear, a lobster, a cat and more, and learn the secret language of shapes. A book nook is filled with carefully chosen books containing shape exploration and math challenges for kindergartners to adults.

Shape Space is recommended for children ages 5 and up - and their adult friends - for maximum understanding and interest. Younger children also enjoy many of the exhibit's interactive elements. Play guides are on hand to encourage fun and learning.

Some things to do in Shape Space

Preschoolers:

Build with the big wooden blocks. Make something tall. Make something short. How many different shaped blocks can you use?
Sort the magnetic shapes (Magna-Tiles^TM) into families. Make a stack of squares and a stack of triangles.

Ages 5 to 7:

At the shape table, put squares together to make a cube. How many squares do you need? Check out the "secret language of shapes" to find out the math name for this shape.
Play the Shape Talk game with a friend.
Use the blocks to build a bridge, a tower, a city...
Make a pattern on the tessellation board. Cover as much of the board as you can with your pattern. How many different patterns can you make?

Ages 8 and up:

Find a shape you like on the polygon poster and try to make a three-dimensional model of it with the shapes at the shape table. Place your finished shape on the show-off shelf.
Think about what flat shapes are on a soccer ball. Try to build one using the shapes at the shape table. Check out the "secret language of shapes" to find out the math name for a soccer ball shape.

Other Exhibits: