The tangram- Does anyone remember this from their childhood? For those who aren’t familiar with the concept, this cute puzzle involves a square cut into a set of geometric tiles that can be arranged to form countless shapes.

I recently had the idea that it might be a fun game at a kids party, especially if you make the colorful puzzle pieces GIANT! Then, challenge the kids to form the shapes of animals provided on puzzle cards. 

In addition to instructions, I’ve also included a printable for 4 animal puzzle cards and a solution sheet!

Materials Needed: Large piece of cardboard, box cutter or x-acto knife, straight edge ruler, light color marker, spray paint (we’ve used blue, neon yellow, beige, pink, lilac, light green, and pale blue), acrylic paint (we’ve used cerulean blue, lime green, beige, pink), round paint brush,

Step 1: Cut the largest piece of cardboard you can get your hands on into a square shape using a box cutter and straight edge ruler (ours was 42” x 42”). Since you’ll be cutting the other shapes out of this square, make sure to use a ruler to get as straight a line as possible for each measurement.

Step 2: Measure the center point of each of the four sides, and make a tick mark in pen.

Step 3: Draw a line connecting the top-center point with the left-center point. 

Step 4: Draw a large X, from corner to corner, separating the square into four equal triangles.

Step 5: Measure the center point of each of the four arms of the X. Make tick marks in pen.

Step 6: Draw a line connecting the left-center point to the center of the bottom-left arm of the X. You should now have a diamond shape within the cardboard square.

Step 7: Draw a line connecting the center of the top-right arm of the X to the center of the top-left arm of the X.

Step 8: Using a box-cutter and ruler, cut along the lines as shown in the photo. The two triangles in the top left should be combined into one larger triangle. You should have 7 pieces in total.

Step 9: Spray paint the individual pieces in their base color. This may take a couple of coats to get an even color.

Step 10: Decorate with different painted patterns.

Step 11: Download the puzzle cards and solution page and pass them out at the party!

Crafting by Naomi Julia Satake