Pattern detectives, Uncovering the symmetries of designs

This is a Royal Institution Masterclass that I gave for Year 12 students on the 28th of February, 2026. The Masterclass was about how to identify symmetries in everyday patterns. I also touched on the theory behind wallpaper groups and how they can be used to classify patterns.

These are the slides I used:

Unlike other talks where it is mostly me speaking, this Masterclass was very interactive. The students worked in groups to solve some activities that I had prepared for them and discussed the solutions together.

Here are some of the activities they worked on: