Discover the two-dimensional shapes found in three-dimensional shapes and stamp imaginative creations using found materials.

What You Need: 

• Small wooden or plastic building blocks or household objects in geometric forms (Examples: A soup can or lotion bottle is a cylinder. A small gift box is a cube or rectangular prism. A domino is a rectangular prism.)  
• Stamp pads or paint 
• Paper 

What You Do: 

1. Look around your house and gather objects that are different 3D shapes--cubes, cylinders, pyramids, etc.  Items might include dice, dominoes, soup cans, wooden blocks, or Lego. 
2. Choose a 3D shape. Predict what 2D shapes you can stamp with the 3D shape.  (For example, “I think that the cylinder will stamp a circle.”) 
3. Press the object onto the stamp pad or dip into paint poured onto a paper plate or cookie sheet. 
4. Press the object onto the paper and see what shape it makes.   
5. Continue stamping with 3D shapes to see what 2D shapes you find. 

 
Words to Use: 

• 2-Dimensional: Having length and depth. 
• 3-Dimensional: Having, or seeming to have, length, depth, and height 
• Cylinder: A shape, object, or container with circular ends and long straight sides. 
• Cube: A solid object with six equal square sides 
• Pyramid: Having four triangular sides with a square bottom. 
• Rectangular Prism: A solid (3-dimensional) object which has six faces that are rectangles. It has the same cross-section along a length, which makes it a prism. 
• Cone: A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base to a point called the apex or vertex.  

 
What to Talk About: 

• What shape do you think this cone will make when we stamp it?  What about if we turn it on its side?   
• How are three-dimensional shapes different from the two-dimensional shapes? 
• How many two-dimensional shapes can you find in this three-dimensional shape? 

 
Change It Up:  

• Use the shapes to create a picture, like a square with a triangle above it for a house. 
• Create patterns using shapes. 
• Ask your family or friends to join in on the fun. Have them guess what 2D shape each 3D shape will stamp. 
• Collaborate with family to create a work of art together.  Everyone takes a turn adding a shape to the picture until you feel like it is complete. 

Learning Connections:  

• Communication 
• Collaboration 
• Critical Thinking 
• Curiosity 
• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) 

 
Curriculum Connections:
NC Standard Course of Study 

• Visual Arts: K.V.3, 1.V.3, 2.V.3, 3.V.3, 4.V.3, 5.V.3 
• Math: NC.K.G.2, NC.K.G.3, NC.K.G.4, NC.K.G.6, NC.1.G.2, NC.2.G.1, NC.3.G.1, NC.4.G.3