Fractivities

Fractivities are hands-on projects that teach fractal concepts in a fun, artistic way. Students utilize their math skills in real-world applications and also work together as a team to create large fractal designs.

With support from the Albert I. Pierce Foundation, our fractivities are aligned with common core standards in mathematics and English language arts so you can more easily incorporate teaching fractals in your classroom, combining science, math and art!

You can use our curriculum for free or can hire us to come to your school to lead fun, hands-on activities. Check out our education and outreach page!

Need help in choosing a fractivity?

This summary page shows what grades each activity is appropriate for and what common core math standards they meet.

This page includes the associated English language arts standards met by the activities.

We are sharing these fractivities with teachers for free and request that you provide feedback to us so we can continue to refine and improve our curriculum. Thank you, and have fun!

See what people are saying about us on our feedback page!

	Fractal Triangle Learn to make the classic triangle fractal, and join many together into a bigger one.
	Fractal Cutout Card Make a 3-dimensional fractal with paper and scissors.
	Fractal Trees Measure the ratios and angles of a tree’s branches to uncover its fractal structure.
	Watersheds and Rivers Learn about the fractal nature of rivers, understand what a watershed is and create your own fractal design.
	The Koch Curve and Coastlines A simple geometric substitution leads to a jagged fractal much like a coastline.
	Fractal Tetrahedrons Teams of students build a fractal tetrahedron made of toothpicks and marshmallows.
	Fraction Tree Use a simple model of an apple tree to practice fractions.
	Fractal Scavenger Hunt Discover fractals surrounding you in the natural world
	Exponents Use fractals to learn about exponents
	XaoS Use free software to explore fractals and create beautiful art
	Pascal’s Fractal Triangle Create Pascal’s Triangle and discover the Sierpinski Fractal Triangle!
	Nature Walk Bingo Explore what fractals you can see around your school or even in your neighborhood
	Bingo Learn all about fractals by playing bingo
	Fibonacci Sequence and Spirals Learn the Fibonacci sequence and understand how it creates spirals in the natural world
	Flower of Life Create a beautiful, repeating pattern of circles that turns into a fractal flowerbed
	3D Paper Tetrahedron Build tetrahedrons out of cut and folded paper
	Menger Cube Create your own Menger cube out of paper
	Tic Frac Toe Play a fractal version of Tic Tac Toe
	Turbulence Learn about and play with fractal patterns of turbulence with some fun, hands-on experiments

These Fractivities were developed with the generous support of the Math & Science Bureau of the NM Public Education Department, Albuquerque Community Foundation and the AI Pierce Foundation.