STEM Activity: Make a Mystery Puzzle

Happy National Puzzle Day! Did you know that puzzles were considered highly challenging pursuits for adults in the 1900s? Unlike most of the puzzles we piece together today, early versions did not have a guiding image on the box. Until the puzzle was complete, the user typically did not know what image they were creating.

Keep your friends and family guessing by following the steps below to create your own mystery puzzle!

Materials Needed 

• Craft paper or cardboard (any size)
• Crayons, markers or colored pencils
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Tea bag (optional)

Step-by-Step Instructions 

1. Cut your craft paper or cardboard into a square or rectangle.
    
2. If you’d like to style your puzzle to make it look like it was from the 1900s, use a wet tea bag to stain your craft paper or cardboard.
   • Sweep and slide the tea bag (as opposed to dabbing it) to maintain a smooth surface.
   • Be sure the surface has dried before moving on to the next step.
      
3. Choose one color crayon, marker or pencil and use a ruler to draw a thick line around the perimeter.
    
4. Within the edge lines, draw and color a picture for your puzzle. Add lots of detail and color to the image, leaving no blank spots. You might even want to select a theme (e.g., for a holiday or birthday) and consider gifting it!
    
5. Cut the entire piece of craft paper or cardboard into smaller pieces. Create different shapes, like triangles and rectangles. Cut through each of the components of your image (e.g., cut an image of a cloud in half).
   
   For an added challenge, try making shapes like jigsaw puzzle pieces.
    
6. Have a friend or family member put together your puzzle to reveal the image!
    
7. Tell them what color you used to mark the edge pieces, as a helpful tip for assembly.

What Are We Discovering?

Working on puzzles has many benefits, including improving problem-solving skills and memory. Whether you are creating your own puzzle or putting one together, you are also working with art! Many National Inventors Hall of Fame^® (NIHF) Inductees embraced art in their lives. For example, NIHF Inductee George Washington Carver, who developed peanut products and crop-rotation methods, would study and illustrate plants. He even created dyes and household paints from natural resources, like peanuts and soil. How do you incorporate art into your life?

Looking for More STEM Fun? Sign Up for Camp Invention!

If your child enjoys STEM activities, they will love Camp Invention^®, NIHF’s nationwide K-6 STEM summer camp. To learn more about this year’s brand-new program and to reserve your spot today, we invite you to visit our website.