Crystallographic Education for All
Very young children are intensely curious about their environment. Watch a toddler gazing intently at the different shaped stones on a gravel path and you will see an embryonic materials scientist wondering why stones are the shapes they are; why are they all different colours and shapes?. We need to help children to retain this sense of enquiry. By playing 'crystallographic games' we can introduce them to many concepts which are essential to an understanding of the science we hope they will study later. These are ideas of symmetry, the lattice, shapes of polyhedra, including space filling ones and the packing of spheres.
Although children's building blocks in the UK are usually rectangular, other shapes can be made and used to show what other simple shapes can be fitted together to fill space, a concept which can later lead to the idea of crystal classes. I have designed several different polyhedral nets which can be cut out and constructed by older children to make their own 3D models. Alternatively, mothers (or elder siblings) might like to make a new baby a 'Crystal mobile of the Platonic Solids' to hang over the cot for the baby to look at. We might consider making a 'BCA Mobile' with one simple object for each Group which can be simply constructed and which is an example of the science done by each group. With older children soap bubbles are fun to play with and can also be used to show how different shapes fit together in foams, which are important in modern materials.
Another important shape is the sphere. Children enjoy trying to pile up spheres to see what shapes can be made. Although special kits of spheres can be bought, it is probably better to use whatever is possible in your environment, such as spherical chocolate sweeties (especially in summer when the 'balls' melt and can be eaten), oranges, steel ball bearings, cannon balls etc.
History can be useful too. Why split knowledge into tight compartments? Pupils may remember how to pack spheres if it is approached historically. Which general offered a prize for the most efficient way to store his army's cannon balls? Who won the prize?
Special exhibits can be set up for local museums or taken round to schools to enrich their mathematics or 'design' classes. While taking exhibits of polyhedra to local shows I find many people who 'hate maths' and refuse to try to understand geometry yet are happy to construct polyhedral shapes to decorate their Christmas trees.
Crystal growing competitions for schools are popular in the UK; while waiting for the crystals to grow the children can be encouraged to make their own models and discover by experiment which can fill space. Older children can use the Internet to learn how crystals are important in our everyday lives, by finding links to topics such as 'how a quartz watch works' or making better turbine blades for power stations.
I am trying to make a set of Web pages for the British Crystallographic Association incorporating these ideas and would be most grateful for suggestions of other ideas or links to educational web sites.
Kate Crennell
BCA Education Officer
email: [email protected]
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