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"A tessellation is created when a shape is repeated over and over again covering a plane without any gaps or overlaps. Another word for a tessellation is a tiling. Read more here: What is a Tiling? A dictionary* will tell you that the word "tessellate" means to form or arrange small squares in a checkered or mosaic pattern. The word "tessellate" is derived from the Ionic version of the Greek word "tesseres," which in English means "four." The first tilings were made from square tiles. A regular polygon has 3 or 4 or 5 or more sides and angles, all equal. A regular tessellation means a tessellation made up of congruent regular polygons. [Remember: Regular means that the sides and angles of the polygon are all equivalent (i.e., the polygon is both equiangular and equilateral). Congruent means that the polygons that you put together are all the same size and shape.] Only three regular polygons tessellate in the Euclidean plane: triangles, squares or hexagons. We can't show the entire plane, but imagine that these are pieces taken from planes that have been tiled. "

"Tessellations here mean designs featuring animals, birds, etc, which can fill the page, without gaps or over-lapping, to form a pattern that completely fills a space. It's the simplest kind of jigsaw puzzle: all the pieces look alike! You can see example tessellations in the top right corner of this website. The example changes each time you move to a new page. On these pages, you will find information about all aspects of tessellations, from their history and development to complete galleries of examples by school students, guest artists, the webmasters Seth and David, and of course M. C. Escher, the pioneer of the art. Also included are extensive workshops showing how to design and produce your own. All are accessible from the orange navigation bar or from the site index -see below. This site is a dedicated graphics site and not focused on the math. As M. C. Escher said, "Mathematicians go to the garden gate but they never venture through to appreciate the delights within." To use another metaphor, you're missing the fun if you use a microscope to enjoy a merry-go-round. If, as a result of your visit, you venture through that garden gate, please send us your designs for inclusion in the guest gallery. Link to us! To put a button that links to us on your website, if you're comfortable with HTML then just copy the text below, change the text to suit your feelings, and add it to your website."