# The Magic of Möbius Strips

##### For: Nice activity for primary pupils but will amaze all ages

Thursday 26/03/20

Hands-on activity: a Mobius Strip is an object that defies common sense and has some curious mathematical properties

The  Möbius Strip is called after German Mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius (1790 – 1868) but it is believed to have been known in Roman times.

You can see our friend Douglas Buchanan’s expert demonstration of  Möbius Strips.

What you will need:

• Paper
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Sellotape

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut a strip of paper approximately 30 cm long and 4 cm wide. (Divide an A4 page into 5 long strips)
2. With a pencil and ruler draw a dashed line along the centre of the strip, lengthways
3. You are going to join the two narrow ends of the paper together but first make a half a twist with one end.
4. Tape the two ends together. This is called a Möbius Strip
5. Trace along the centre of the strip: do you come back to where you started?

In Mathematics the Möbius Strip is considered to have only one side, because you can travel around a Möbius Strip and arraive back at your starting point.