3D Shape Detective
Launch this tool in a distraction-free environment optimized for classroom instruction.
About
3D Shape Detective is a full-screen interactive web app where students solve property-based riddles to identify 3D shapes. After correctly guessing the shape, they actively sketch it out on a large digital canvas and watch as their messy lines magically snap into perfect, step-by-step mathematical diagrams.
Created by Eunike Morib
STEM connections
This app integrates Mathematics and Art by requiring students to visualize mathematical properties, physicalize them through digital sketching, and observe the systematic construction of geometric forms.
Mathematics: Geometry & Spatial Reasoning
Students practice translating written properties of 3D objects—such as faces, edges, and vertices—into mental images of standard solids.
Art: Technical Sketching
The drawing activity forces students to think about how 3D forms are represented on a 2D plane, reinforcing visual communication skills.
Technology: Procedural Animation
The app's 'Perfect It' feature visually demonstrates algorithm-based procedural steps, turning rough, continuous freehand inputs into ordered, discrete geometric elements.
What students will learn
Identify a 3D solid (Cube, Rectangular Prism, Square-based Pyramid, Cylinder, Cone) based on a description of its faces, edges, and vertices.
Sketch a reasonable 2D representation of a 3D geometric shape.
Explain the sequence of steps required to accurately draw a 3D shape, distinguishing between visible and hidden edges.