Dominoes are a classic toy that children and adults can enjoy for generations. They are simple enough to be entertaining, yet complex enough to provide an engaging challenge. They can be used to create straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, and even 3D structures like towers and pyramids. While dominoes are most often thought of as a fun way to entertain, they can also help teach children fundamental mathematical concepts.
Each domino has an identifying mark on one side and is blank or identically patterned on the other side. Each identifying mark is either a square, a circle, or a line. Dominoes are arranged so that a player may place them perpendicular to each other or to an existing chain of dominoes, depending on the game being played. The resulting chains can develop into snake-lines or other geometric shapes.
The size of a domino, the number of its pips and the way that it is positioned on the board all contribute to the type of game being played. The rules of each game determine how the dominoes are placed and when play ends. Generally, the player who plays a domino with the highest amount of dots begins the first turn and all players continue to play their dominoes until their opponents are unable to continue playing (or “chip out”).
After that, each player’s score is calculated by counting the number of pips remaining in the opposing players’ hands. The player or team with the most points wins. Some games allow teams to earn more points for a lower total count.
A Domino Effect
As a child, Hevesh was always fascinated by the way that dominoes could be lined up to make different shapes and patterns. Her interest in dominoes grew into a passion as she began to collect them and share her creations online.
Her YouTube channel is filled with videos of her creating art and structures using dominoes. Her creations include domino art of animals, cities, and people. She also shares video tutorials to help others recreate her work.
In addition to her creative works, Hevesh also uses her domino collection to demonstrate physics principles. For example, she makes use of dominoes to demonstrate that the speed at which a domino falls is independent of the length of its axon. She has also used her dominoes to illustrate how nerve impulses travel along axons and that a nerve impulse can only move in one direction. Her videos are popular and help educate both children and adults about fundamental physics concepts.