Math Monday: Geodesic Dome Chicken Coop

Science
Math Monday: Geodesic Dome Chicken Coop

By George Hart for the Museum of Mathematics

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Maybe you’ve always wanted to build your own geodesic dome home, but consider that too large of a project. You can build up your skills on a smaller scale by constructing a chicken coop. Anthony Liekens built this lovely one-meter geodesic dome so his chickens can lay in style.


The construction uses two shapes of pine triangles, which are screwed together on the inside with steel plumber’s strapping, then caulked in all of the joints. The pentagons are each made of five isosceles triangles and connect to each other via equilateral triangles.


Anthony’s step-by-step instructions are here. I like how it is elevated on five posts, in consonance with the five-fold symmetry about its center.

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See all of George Hart’s Math Monday columns

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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn

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