Math Tricks

2012 Dodecahedron Calendar

January 2nd, 2012 by Math Tricks | 1 Comment | Filed in Polyhedron Nets, Regular Polyhedra

Dodecahedron Calendar

Happy New Year! And with the new year, I have for you a neat little project that you can complete in a short time. It is a 12 month dodecahedron calendar! It is a perfect project that can be performed by students as an introduction to Platonic Solids, or by anybody who just wants a really cool calendar. If you have very young children, I am sure they will find this a fascinating object – our two oldest boys (5 and 3) really enjoyed it, and now they can say “dodecahedron”!

Simply print the dodecahedron net below, cut it out on the black lines, fold the grey lines, and tape in the tabs such that the dodecahedron is formed.

To print the dodecahedron, click on the image to get the larger file in your browser. You can then right-click the file to save it to your computer, or print it directly.

Click on the image to open the larger file.

A bit of patience is required when assembling the calendar, but I think you will be pleased with the results if you stick with it. Below are some pictures I took while assembling one. I used scissors to cut the dodecahedron, and they worked well enough. If you have an x-acto knife, I would suggest using that instead.

Here is the dodecahedron net cut out and ready to be assembled:

Taping the tabs in:

taping the dodecahedron 1

More folding and taping:

taping the dodecahedron 2

More folding and taping:

taping the dodecahedron 3

Slow and steady, carefully folding and taping. Did I mention that patience is required? Almost done:

taping the dodecahedron 4

Smoothing out the faces with a chop stick:

smoothing the dodecahedron with a chop stick

The finished product:

the completed dodecahedron

Our two oldest kids, stunned with the awesomeness of the dodecahedron calendar:

kids with the dodecahedron

Again, just a bit of patience, and you will have a great calendar in the form of my favorite Platonic Solid. I got a good result on my first attempt. With a little practice, I am sure I can get better results in a shorted time – and so can you!