Giant SOMA puzzle The seven-piece SOMA puzzle has been a classic
since Piet Hein invented it in the 1930s. The Math Museum has a
giant SOMA, one meter on each side, for visitors to play with.
This one is stuffed with foam so you can climb on your
creations. It is easy to glue together 27 wood cubes to make
your own set. There are seven pieces to the puzzle — all the
possible ways to have at most four blocks and at least one bend.
Note that two of the pieces are mirror images. Once you make a
set of pieces, you can challenge your spatial abilities by
assembling them into many different constructions. Here are a
just a few things you can make, each with the same seven pieces.
It is a fun group activity to make a much larger SOMA by
assembling cardboard boxes. Instructions are online here.