A giant MegaMenger is set to be made in Manchester as part of the Manchester Science Festival. More than 140,000 business cards have been printed and donated by Hobs Reprographics. These will be folded into small cubes then assembled to build a structure which will be nearly one and half metres tall.
Creating the MegaMenger involves building Menger sponges. This starts when Volunteers build the smallest cubes out of six business cards, which are cleverly folded so they lock together. These will be combined in groups of 20 to create 400 “level one” Menger Sponges. These will then be combined in groups of 20 to make 20 “level two” sponges, which then form one massive “level three” Menger Sponge. This results in an object which has zero volume but infinite surface area!
The Manchester MegaMenger is one of 20 being built around the globe, which together form a planet-spanning fractal. The build is taking place at Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI), and is sponsored by Queen Mary, University of London.
The build is taking place on Saturday 25th to Sunday 26 October between 10:00 and 16:00.
If you’d like to join in or watch the build, or make your own fractal, then visit www.ManchesterScienceFestival.com to find out more!