Collaborative Halloween Math and Art Project: Ghost Tessellation. Design a unique Halloween tessellation using the Spectre tile! (FREE templates)

Halloween Math Craft Activity | Ghost Tessellation Math & Art Project I The Spectre Tile | Ghosts

Do you remember the Einstein tile? Then the Spectre was discovered.

This engaging collaborative math & art project uses one of the latest mathematics discoveries, the Spectre tile (discovered by David Smith, Joseph Samuel Myers, Craig S. Kaplan, and Chaim Goodman-Strauss)!

This amazing shape can tile the plane without needing reflected copies, and no tiling with unreflected copies has a repeating pattern.

What is the Spectre Shape?

 Let me tell you the story.

The Einstein Tile (An Aperiodic Monotile), also known as the Hat, was discovered by David Smith, Joseph Samuel Myers, Craig S. Kaplan, and Chaim Goodman-Strauss. It is the first-ever shape in mathematics to tile the plane endlessly without ever quite repeating the pattern (check out my free templates). When tiling the plane, the Hat uses both reflected and unreflected tiles in every arrangement, leaving open the question of whether a single shape can tile aperiodically using translations and rotations alone. 

This question is answered with the exciting discovery of the Spectre (A Chiral Aperiodic Monotile), which means it can tile the plane without needing reflected copies, and no tiling with unreflected copies has a repeating pattern.

In this freebie, you will find 9 different versions of Spectre Tiles. On pages 4-11, there are tiles with different ghost faces. On page 3 is a blank tile version where students can draw their own weird faces.

You don't need to use reflected copies to cover the plane. Design a unique Halloween tessellation using the Spectre tile!

Each student cuts out and colors their own ghost or multiple ones. Everyone's pieces perfectly connect together to make a mural, door decoration, or bulletin board display. Let your students express themselves using this hands-on Halloween Math & Art activity during the exploration of the Spectre Tile.

Students can experiment and create many different patterns with Spectre tiles. 

Have students measure the angles and side lengths of this tile. What do they notice?

You can read more about this amazing shape here. 

No matter how you choose to use the Spectre tile, it's bound to add an extra layer of engagement and discovery to your lessons. After all, the joy of mathematics lies not just in finding the right answers but in the journey of discovering new patterns and perspectives. And now, with the Spectre shape, that journey just got a whole lot more exciting!

So, let the tiling begin! Download the FREE templates now and prepare to watch your students engage with mathematics in a whole new way. Happy tessellating!

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