The quick and short answer as to what they are is this. Tangram is an old Chinese game that consists of seven shapes that are used to make shapes and pictures. The rules are, you must use all seven tans, they must lay flat, they must touch and none may overlap. From here, pictures are often given in their complete form where the player must try to duplicate it using all pieces. Click on the link below to see an example.
Conceptual Use of the Tangram in Education
Making Your Own Tangram Pieces (pdf)
Tangram Game
This game is just a start to Tangram. By clicking on the link above, you can explore the wonderful
and educational world of Tangram. This application will give you a shape to the left that you are to
recreate using all of the shapes that you are given.This game was found at http://sergeraty.tripod.com/awtjava.html where
it was created. There are a few other java applets available here for download as well. Check it out.
Link to Northern Michigan University
R.Bellomo: rbellomo@nmu.edu