Rubik’s cube started as a prop in learning
architecture. It was invented by a professor of architecture Erno Rubik in
1974. Since then, the mind-twisting cube garnered the interest of people
worldwide as a mind-honing apparatus as well as a toy to kill time.
The founder of Kids Station Marketing Sdn Bhd,
Eric Tan shared his interest and knowledge in cube puzzles and ways to
utilise them in teaching and learning. The webinar was held on 5 July 2021
via Zoom as part of the
Virtual Mind
& STEM Festival 2021. “We use this puzzle for many mathematics
activities and STEM problem-solving skills. It helps students to understand
math concepts including area, perimeter, volume, angles, algorithms and many
more,” said Tan.
There are more than 200 types of cube puzzles in
the market with the biggest cube weighing almost three kilogram
The webinar included live demonstrations on ways
to solve various type of cubes, including beginner, ivy leaf, pyraminx,
wooden snake, and 3x3x3 Rubik’s cube
Cube puzzles can be a great tool for visual and
tactile learners as they can use their strong senses to solve the cubes.
Aside from that, solving cubes often take time, creating moments for
students to learn to persevere and focus on their problem-solving skills. It
will also help students familiarise themselves with following instructions
and directions in order to solve the cube puzzles. “Upon failing to follow
the steps carefully, they have to start over and this provides them the
opportunity to learn to handle frustration,” said Tan, admiring the Rubik’s
cube that has over 43 quintillion possible combinations with 20 moves or
less to solve it.
To promote the application of cubes in teaching
and learning, Tan conducts workshops in schools and events. He also
organises Rubik’s cube competitions. Since 2009, more than 100 competitions
have been held in schools and the Malaysia Festival of Minds and Kuala
Lumpur Engineering and Science Fair (KLESF). The competitions received both
local and international participants.
In collaboration with
education departments, workshops were held for teachers to enable the use of
Rubik’s cube in the classrooms
Cube workshop held during the KLESF in 2019
Wholly owned by UTAR Education Foundation (200201010564(578227-M)) LEGAL STATEMENT TERM OF USAGE PRIVACY NOTICE