Fractal Trianglethon

Help us Create the World’s Largest Fractal Sierpinski Triangle!

One cluster of 27 triangles, plus parts of two others. Made by 2'nd and 3'd graders at Apache Elementary School.

On March 14th, 2010, we assembled  4036 triangles into a gigantic fractal triangle (plus leftovers), in the Albuquerque Convention Center westside ballroom. See Pictures!

We are continuing the activity, and plan to build an even bigger triangle made of 6561 triangles.

By doing this activity, children learn about fractals, symmetry, powers of three, fractions, iteration, scaling, and more. See the full list of NM State Educational Standards in math and art this fractivity meets.

A Sierpinski Triangle can be made of 3 smaller copies of itself. A bigger version can be made of 9 triangles. An even bigger one is made of 27 and so on, always a power of 3. See the detailed description in the Fractivities section.

Here is the progression of triangles:
1
3
9
27
81
243
729
2187
6561

We are aiming next to build a 9th order triangle, consisting of 6561 triangles Yes, that’s a LOT of children to teach about fractals and a lot to coordinate. But we can easily do it! We’ve already taught over 24,000 children about fractals. One class of about 27 kids can do the project in about 30-45 minutes.  Can we do it? Only with your help!

Teachers/Parents - Please mail your students’ completed fractal triangles to us at:

Fractal Foundation, 2917 Campus Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106

Thanks!