I am trying to figure out the name of a figure that consists of 8 (I think) square pyramids. There is a net drawing of this figure somewhere and I can’t find it because I don’t know the name. When all 8 pyramids are connected, they form a “3-dimensional star.” We did this project when I was 14 years old and I am now a 27 year old teacher and I would love to do this project with my kids.


The faces of each square pyramid are isosceles triangles. There is a flap at each edge of the base. This flap is used so that one pyramid can be connected to the other. I have attached a very rough draft picture of the net drawing to this email. I don’t know if this is exactly how it is drawn but this picture should give you an idea.

If you know the name of it or if you know where I can get the net drawing for free, please let me know.

Thank you,

Rachel

Hi Rachel,

My guess is that you want the stella octangula -- which consists of 8 triangular pyramids built on the sides of a regular octahedron. You can see its picture at mathworld.

I doubt if 8 squares would fit together in a nice way.

Chris