Patterns

Tiling Table

TILING TABLE is a flat surface on which rest scores of multi-colored polygonal wood tiles. The tiles are color-coded by shape, and allow visitors to construct their own 2- or 3-dimensional patterns. The Tiling Table illustrates the simple rules which govern the formation of solid patterns. Tiling patterns are found everywhere, from brickwork to quilts. Tiling patterns also abound in nature, and can be found in the arrangement of cells in plants and animals, in clusters of bubbles, spider webs, and elsewhere. The geometry of tiling is used to study crystal structure and molecular arrangements.