Open in full window

This interactive version of the Great Dodecahedron was inspired by a Mathematical Association Poster.

Teachers' Notes:

Invite the learners to look at the picture an describe what the can see. They are not allowed to use their hands to point but must describe any shapes they can see in the picture so that the rest of the class can understand what they are describing. Some children might describe 2D shapes while others will see 3D.
There are six buttons at the bottom of the picture (if Flash is enabled) but these should only be used by the teacher as a last resort if a child can't easily see some of the shapes which might be described or who need a little help to get started. The buttons, from left to write show:

1. The Great Dodecahedron

2. Cube

3. Hexagon

4. Pentagon and Starfish!

5. Tetrahedron

6. Rotation

Poinsot's Polyhedra, 1810

Poinsot's Polyhedra

1. Great Dodecahedron (twelve intersecting pentagonal faces)
2. Great Icosahedron (twenty intersecting triangular faces)

These models are on display in London's Science Museum


Dodecahedron Calendar

Dodecahedron Calendar

The net of a dodecahedron with this year's calendar printed on its faces to cut out and construct.

The web address is:


Plans and Elevations

Plans and Elevations

Interpret plans and elevations of three dimensional objects and scenes in this online exercise.

The short web address is:




Name the polygons and show the number of lines and order of rotational symmetry.

The short web address is:


Thursday, February 11, 2016

"The Great Dodecahedron poster was used to great effect on the Using and Applying Mathematics courses for teachers provided by Birmingham's Curriculum Support Service back in the day when Using and Applying Maths was seen to be a new concept!"


©1997-2021 WWW.TRANSUM.ORG