MTE reviews: Happy Birthday Rubik's Cube!

While I've just marked my own 35th special day, that toy from my childhood is ringing in one its own, and a big one at that.  This year, the Rubik's Cube is a whopping 30 years young, and from what I can tell from youtube videos alone, it definitely still has its appeal!

Recently, the USA Science and Engineering Festival took place in Washington, DC, and although my family wasn't able to attend, I can certainly appreciate the fabulousness of such an event.  One look at its mission statement, and any parent can see the inherent value.  (Especially any parent of an elementary school aged child who has worked on one or more STEM Fair Projects.  Yup, that's us!)  The Rubik's Cube had a place at the festival with a student competition, as well as an award for Erno Rubik, the inventor of this and other mechanical puzzles, for Outstanding Contributions to Science Education. 

Although we weren't able to make it to the Festival, I was happy to receive a package including the famous 3x3 cube, along with the You CAN Do The Rubik's Cube Solution Guide.  You see, I have a history with the Rubik's Cube.  A shameful history.  A history of failure and frustration.  I could never solve that dang thing, and I even took severe measures as a child.

Oh yes.  I peeled the stickers off and attempted to put them back on in the correct spots.

Needless to say, that didn't work so well, and I remember just getting so irked with the whole thing that I simply stopped trying.  I probably haven't even touched a Rubik's Cube for well over twenty years. 

I've been playing around with the new Rubik's Cube recently, and it became apparent, quite quickly, that I still don't understand this puzzle at all, even with the wisdom that supposedly comes with age.  JAM, my ten year old, took one look at it all beautifully aligned fresh out of the box, and immediately went to work mixing it back and forth with wild abandon.  In my seriously misguided understanding, I was instantly worried that you were supposed to jumble it a certain way to be able to follow the solution guide directions, but again, just another aspect of my confusion.

After he mixed it up, I promptly sat down with the Solution Guide, determined to finally conquer this bad boy.  I'm sad to say that even with the solution guide, this was still a significant task for me, the most spatially-challenged of the bunch. I was mildly confused by some of the directions in here, but after a few re-reads, I got on board.  I'm happy to say that today, after several unsuccessful attempts, I finally was able to sit down for a sustained amount of time to really concentrate on this colorful puzzle.  Discounting the time in which I placed it down to do something for the children, during which my darling four year old Red decided to add her own contributions (that knocked me back two steps), I actually worked all the way to the end, getting rewarded with six sides of matching colors!  Hurray!

JAM has not yet done much more with the cube than a few haphazard moves, but now I look forward to exploring it more with him.  (You know, since I'm such an expert now.)  I loved reading that the You CAN Do the Rubik's Cube program is available for educators working with kids in grades 3-12, with activities and lesson plans that fit into the standards set by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics-- this isn't just some cute little puzzle!  Kits can be purchased online by schools or organizations and include multiple cubes and guides, as well as an instructional DVD and other helpful tools for use in a large group. 

Personally, I'm making it a mission to better understand the concepts behind the solution, so I don't have to sit with this book open on my knees every time I want to tackle the Cube.  Well, that is, once I mess up its color coordinated sides again.  For today, I'm basking in my success!

Many thanks to Rubik's Cube for the cube, solution guide, and package of party treats. 


Continuing to work on my math skills,