Hamza has an irresistible urge to straighten two framed portraits, to make them match. How come? Because the human brain loves symmetry! To find out about symmetry, and why people love it so much, we'll draw giant mystery pictures, get crazy with snowflakes and meet the famous Mona Lisa herself! Even Koolkatt gets in on the act by demonstrating rotational symmetry.

Teacher's guide available under Additional info tag. Also available DV5747.

INVESTIGATION/HANDS-ON: Han Ru and Stefano go on a hunt to find both natural and human-made symmetrical things. They meet Maria, a biologist who shows them why insects are symmetrical. Our intrepid investigators draw symmetrical butterflies in the Hands-On, using two different methods. CHALLENGE: Can you guess what an image is just by looking at half of it? Two teams compete to do just that. One teammate draws a gigantic half of a symmetrical picture with spray paint while a second teammate must complete the other half of the image so that teammate #3 can guess what it is. BRAIN BENDER: Today, Taya and Andrew are looking for special snowflakes. Hidden amongst a group of symmetrical snowflakes are two asymmetrical ones. Asymmetrical means that if you draw a line in any direction through the middle, you’ll never get two sides that look exactly the same. Can you find the asymmetrical snowflakes before Taya and Andrew do? EDUCATIONAL TAKE AWAY: When one half of an image is the other half's reflection, it's called reflection symmetry. Rotational symmetry has matching counterparts that rotate around a central point. An object can have one or sometimes many lines of symmetry, which can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal.