Magna-Tects at HelloBee love playing with pretend ice cream! They made a 3-D ice cream cone and used their play kitchen as an ice cream stand.
They also made a 1-D, flat ice cream cone and traced it on a sheet of paper! Fun!
Category Archives: Magna-Tiles Creations
Magna-Tiles does dwell
Take a look at dwell magazine’s design week pattern! We are inspired by cool colors and geometric shapes. Magna-Tects made a #magnatiles version on a magnetic dry erase board:
Their pattern is made up of 8 colorful quadrilaterals! Small Squares and Right Triangles were used to replicate the logo on a magnetic white board. Encourage children to identify and describe patterns! Check out dwell for more architecture and design inspiration!
Magna-Tiles in the Window!
A four year old Magna-Tects lined up Magna-Tiles in his window!
Small squares were arranged across the window sill behind a decorative snowflake light!
Magna-Tiles Clear Colors are translucent and the light shining through changes the appearance of the colors. Cool!
Four Isosceles triangles were arranged on top of the vertically standing Small Squares in the front row. How many Equilateral Triangles were used in the second row?
Do you see a pattern? Magna-Tects arranged the Triangles in a pattern of placing them on top of every other Small Square. If 15 Small Squares were used in the second row and there is an Equilateral Triangle on the first and last square, how many Equilateral Triangles are needed?
Magna-Tect + Magna-Tiles Cat!
It has Equilateral Triangles for ears and Isosceles Triangles for paws. Children will utilize abstract thinking when working with shapes to make Magna-Tiles Creations.
Magna-Tiles + The Avengers
Magna-Tects created characters from the 2012 film The Avengers! Can you name the characters from left to right?
First is The Hulk! He has a vertical line of symmetry. Imagine drawing a line up and down in the middle…. it would create a mirror image on either side of this line!
In the middle is Iron Man! He wears a powered armor that gives him superhuman strength and durability as well as flight! Magna-Tects conveyed this with the color Red. Iron Man is known for his ability to fire rays from the palms of his gauntlets! We can see this represented with orange Small Squares.
On the right side is Captain America! We are able to recognize this superhero by his blue costume and shield! Magna-Tects made the shield as the shape of a hexagon with red Equilateral Triangles.
Very cool Magna-Tiles Creation! Children express themselves and show understanding through Magna-Tiles play!
Magna-Tiles Castle + Rope Light
Magna-Tects build a colorful castle and placed rope light inside!
Magna-Tiles Snow Day!
Magna-Tiles Snowmen! These #magnatiles creations have a vertical line of symmetry. Not all Snowmen are the same shape and size… how will you design yours?!
The Snowman on the left was made by stacking 3 Octagons! How can we describe the shape of the second Snowman?
When it is too cold to play outisde, Magna-Tects (2 and 5 years-old) made Magna-Tiles Snowflakes inside! Children express themselves by creating designs and patterns with basic geometric shapes.
Magna-Tiles Hockey Rink
Magna-Tects designed their own Magna-Tiles Hockey Rinks! The first setup has a shape made up of three Rectangles. One rectangle is the ice rink, the second rectangle is behind the goal, and the third is where the players are waiting! Can you see that the third rectangle is divided into three equal sections?
The second setup has replaced the toy goals! Instead, there are two Right Triangles positioned to catch the puck. Which is bigger; the toy goals or the Shape of the #magnatiles goal using Small Squares and Right Triangles? We hypothesize that the toy goals are wider but the #magnatiles goals do not have a top so it is open on top!
Which Hockey Rink setup has a bigger playing space? To find out, we measure the surface area!
- Setup # 1 is 6 Small Squares long and 4 Small Squares wide. 6 x 4 = 24 Magna-Tiles Small Squares
- Setup # 2 is 6 Small Squares long and 3 Small Squares wide. 6 x 3 = 18 Magna-Tiles Small Squares
Or, simply count Small Squares used to make the “floor” of the hockey rink! 24 > 18 so the first setup has a larger playing area!
It is fun to incorporate math ideas in Magna-Tiles play! Parents can use math language to encourage a positive attitude towards math and to demonstrate the importance of math skills in our everyday lives!
These #magnatiles Hockey Rinks were designed and made by Magna-Tects who love hockey! Here is their homemade hockey rink in their own backyard!
Sometimes our Magna-Tiles Creations are knocked down and Magna-Tects must rebuild! Even Felix the Cat enjoys Magna-Tiles and Hockey!
DIY Light Box
Look at this baby snow leopard playing with Magna-Tiles on a DIY light box in a teepee with a flashlight…!
Challenge your Children to make the shape of the teepee pictured with #magnatiles. It is a Square Pyramid!
Make a DIY light box with a clear plastic container and place lights you may have around your home/classroom inside! A tip from the creator: Taping parchment paper inside the lid of the clear bin helps to diffuse the light of the mini bulbs we used in the light box pictured.
Thank you Magna-Tects!
Magna-Tect + Magna-Tiles Cat Tower
Magna-Tiles Robots
We love Robots! Challenge your Children: What do these Magna-Tiles Robots have in common? What makes them different?
Similarities: They all have a cube for a head… or a brain?! Each has two arms and two legs. Two of them (#2 and #3) used Isosceles Triangles for their upper limbs: #2 has square pyramids and #3 simply balances the isosceles triangles pointing forward.
Differences: Only one of them has eyes! Three fourths of them have an additional shape/piece on top (#1, #2, #3 and not #4)… are they sensors? The Clear Colors robots have a vertical line of symmetry! The left and right sides are mirror images of each other. The Magna-Tiles Solid Colors Robot does not because his two upper limbs are different on the left and right side… he is dancing!
Encourage children to be observant and describe their Magna-Tiles Creations. Children will naturally incorporate symmetry in their designs!
Magna-Tiles Art
Magna-Tiles Ferris Wheel
Magna-Tects made Ferris Wheels out of Magna-Tiles and placed small items inside! Rectangular Prisms make the base and the Shape of a Hexagon makes the Wheel… nice work! All three Ferris Wheels are the same height and display vertical symmetry.
Have you ever ridden a ferris wheel?! The creator of the Ferris Wheel is engineer George W.G. Ferris Jr.! He was born on Valentine’s Day Feburary 14, 1859. This year, Google celebrated his 154th Birthday by displaying the Google Doodle below! It shows a scene with two, side-by-side Ferris Wheels in an amusement park.
George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. began his career in the railroad industry and was interested in bridge building. He founded a company, G.W.G. Ferris & Co., to test and inspect metals for railroads and bridge builders. In 1893, he traveled to Chicago, Illinois for the World’s Columbian Exposition. There was a challenge to American Engineers to to conceive a monument for the fair.
The Original 1893 Chicago Ferris Wheel
Ferris wanted to build a structure to outdo the Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the Paris Exhibition of 1889. The Exhibition’s Planners were looking for something “original, daring, and unique”. His wheel was modeled on a bicycle wheel! It had heavy steel beams as spokes to maintain the wheel’s shape and balance and two steel girder pyramids in which the axle was set. Here are more interesting/awesome facts:
- the wheel was 264 feet high
- the supporting towers were 140 feet high
- the axle weighed 46 1/2 tons!
- it cost 50 cents (equal to the Exhibition’s general admission charge) for a 20-minute ride
- it carried an estimated 1 1/2 million visitors at the Exhibition
Ferris’ innovative design, a model of efficiency, allowed it to withstand Chicago’s infamous winds while being able to hold about five times the 1,200 tons that it did carry fully loaded. It was a huge success! Please visit here to learn all about George Ferris (1859-1896) as an Inventor.
Magna-Tiles Tutorial: Ball
Challenge your Children to build this cool 3-D Shape! Pieces Needed are 8 Equilateral Triangles and 6 Small Squares. Look at the flat, 2-D pattern on the left. Can you visualize what it will look like when you lift and connect the pieces together to make a bowl shape? When you put two of them together at their edges, you will have made a Magna-Tiles Soccer Ball!
Magna-Tiles Ball Tutorial:
Watch as a Magna-Tect demonstrates how to construct the Magna-Tiles Soccer Ball while saying directions out loud:
Magna-Tiles Snowflake Structure
Four year-old Magna-Tect’s most recent Magna-Tiles Snowflake Structure!
Top View. Symmetry is pretty!
Side View. We spy a Hexagonal Pyramid! Do you see it?
Top View. Impressive design and Magna-Tiles building!
Compare the Top View and Side View! Notice all of the triangular prisms, balanced Triangles, and beautiful symmetrical design. It looks like the most inner pattern is a Hexagon made of Six Equilateral Triangles. Cool!
Happy Holidays Magna-Tects!
We captioned this Magna-Tiles Creation: A Forest of Green Isosceles Trees! The photo was taken on a magnetic white board. Notice the colorful reflections created by building in front of a window! It is possible to make reflections with natural sunlight, a headlamp, flashlight, or mini LED lights that you may have around your home or classroom.
Click through the slideshow below to explore another Magna-Tiles Tree. It is the Same Shape as the Isosceles Triangle… except it is larger (different Size)! That means that we can describe the two Magna-Tiles Tree as Similar Shapes. Children will explore part-to-whole concepts while building with Magna-Tiles basic geometric shapes.
Challenge your Children to make a Magna-Tiles Tree that is Four Times as big as the “trees” pictured above! That means the two Shapes are Similar. They have the Same Shape, Different Size.
Magna-Tiles Train Tracks
- Today’s Magna-Tiles Creation is captioned: coolest train track I’ve ever built
Challenge your Children to describe their Magna-Tiles Creations:We see a clockwise spiral shape formed by Magna-Tiles standing vertically!It looks like this Magna-Tiles Creation is made of all small squares.What other shapes can you make by balancing pieces to stand up? A Magna-Tiles Message! Make the shapes of letters of the alphabet to develop language and pre-reading skills.
Magna-Tiles Liberty Tower
Magna-Tiles Chalkboard
Write a Magna-Tiles Message! Magna-Tects were writing on the driveway with Magna-Tiles chalk… use your imagination!
Build with Magna-Tiles balancing on their edges to make shapes. In this case, we made the shapes of the letters of the alphabet. What other shapes can you create? View the slideshow below to see how we play and LEARN!
Spell Magna-Tiles by Valtech !
Some letters do not fit the pattern of 4 Magna-Tiles high and 2 Magna-Tiles wide
All of the letters are about the same height
Sometimes the Magna-Tiles “clicked” together so we had to use our hands to position them just right!
The shape of the letter “S” was the most difficult for Magna-Tects to make as there are no straight lines in it
When Magna-Tects adjusted one part of the curve, the other “clicked” back! It took a few times and positioning them just right…
The Magna-Tiles “clicked” back together making a straight line!
When re-arraning the letters, Magna-Tects moved parts of the letter at a time instead of attempting to lift them all at once…
This way, the shape of the letter stayed intact! Magnets are very helpful in picking up when it is time to clean up!
Take a look from a different point of view…
Magna-Tiles from a new perspective!
Let’s play and LEARN together!
Magna-Tiles Earrings
A creative Magna-Tect wearing Magna-Tiles earrings! They are Equilateral Triangles.
We then made a Stack of Magna-Tiles to match the Colors of the Striped Pattern on her dress! 
How can we describe this Pattern? Orange, Blue, Green, Blue, White, Blue, Red, Blue, Light Blue, Blue… then the pattern begins again with Orange! Challenge your Children to continue the pattern while saying the colors out loud.
Valtech Magna-Tiles Blog 