Creative Corner Club

The Kaleidoscope

Draw one wandering line. It happens six times at once, all the way round — and a scribble turns into a snowflake.

How many times

Colour

Brush

Paper & mirrors

Two kinds of symmetry

The butterfly you folded had one line of symmetry — fold it once and both halves match. This is different. Here the pattern turns around a point in the middle and lands on itself over and over. That is rotational symmetry, and the number of times it fits as you turn it all the way round is called the order.

Switch the mirrors on and every wedge is reflected as well. That is what a real kaleidoscope is: two mirrors in a tube, and a few beads at the end.

Where to find it: every snowflake has order 6, because of the way water freezes. Starfish are order 5. So are wheels, flowers, the rose windows in old churches, and the tiled patterns on mosques. Print yours out and colour it in properly with pencils.