Your child, or you, can create beautiful art objects such as cards, calendars, and transfer prints using the science of fractals. This educational website is brought to you from Science U. In addition to making pretty fractal pictures, you can learn about fractals and how they work.

What are fractals? In simple terms, fractals are geometrical figures that are generated by starting with a very simple pattern that grows through the application of mathematical formulas.

You see fractal forms in nature - the repeating of patterns with slight variations in leaves, flowers, snowflakes, and coast lines. In a more complex definition, a fractal is a fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is approximately a reduced-size copy of the whole.

The term was coined by Benoît Mandelbrot in 1975 and was derived from the Latin fractus meaning "broken" or "fractured", according to Wikipedia.

To create your own unique picture using fractal geometry, the user-friendly tools on the Science U site ask you to Pick a Fractal from one of several existing fractals in their database. Then, you pick a color scheme from the Pick a Color Scheme chart.

Or, you select a color in the fractal itself and modify that color using the Change Color selector. When you Set color, you will see the fractal image change showing the effect of your selection. When you have a really great picture, you can save the picture as a GIF image and print it or send it to places like Cafe Press, Cardstore, and Snapfishto to create your photo gift or personal treasure.

Fractal Color Scheme Chooser

Posted by Barbara.

Barbara is the editor of Quality Cat Resources and Quality Dog Resources.