STEM Activity: Create a Faux Stained Glass Tessellation

Tessellations are patterns made by repeating geometric shapes that fit together perfectly with no gaps. These arrangements can be found everywhere, from honeycombs in beehives to the tiles on a floor to fun designs made in artwork.

Check out the activity below to make your own tessellation resembling stained glass, and let the sun shine through it when you display it on your window!

Materials Needed:

• Camera (optional)
• Cardboard from a cereal box
• Markers
• Tape
• Tracing paper
• Scissors

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Search for tessellations around you, like the bricks on a wall, the outside of a pineapple or the weave of a basket. If you have a camera, consider taking photos of tessellations for inspiration later.
    
2. Cut a square of any size out of the cereal box cardboard. This will be your template.
    
3. Draw any shape from the bottom of your square and cut it out.
    
4. Move the cut-out shape to the top of the square and tape it in place.

5. Draw another shape on the side of the square and cut it out.
    
6. Move the cut-out shape to the other side of the square and tape it in place.

7. Trace your shape onto tracing paper with a black marker, creating a pattern with no gaps.
    
8. Color in your shapes on the tracing paper, then tape your tessellation on a window, creating a faux stained glass window effect!

What Are We Discovering?

In the early 1880s, National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Inductee Louis Comfort Tiffany developed stained glass technology. His windows created a brilliant visual effect by allowing more natural light compared to traditional windows, and he sometimes incorporated stained glass with a metallic luster to produce an iridescent effect. In 1885, Tiffany established the Tiffany Glass Co., and his beautiful stained glass found its way into windows and buildings around the nation.

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