2. Mazes

27. Historical and Contemporary Mazes

28. Some info… Maze vs Labyrinth - used interchangeably now, but you could say that mazes give choices and labyrinths are often thought to be unicursal. Unicursal means no choices and no branches. You follow the path to the center; often found as designs in churches and cathedrals. Mazes are also called “Branching” because you can take different paths. Interest in mazes is multicultural; found in most areas of the world, many societies, going back over 4000 years. The famous Minotaur maze, which has never been found, was called a labyrinth. Theseus slew the Minotaur, then used a trail of twine he’d laid down coming in to find his way out. Walking in a maze, a hedge or walled maze, place your hand on one wall and keep in contact with the wall as you walk. You may go down a lot of dead ends but you will eventually get to the exit. If you are solving a maze in a book or on a piece of paper, it is sometimes easier to start at the end and work back to the beginning.

29. Cretan Cretan coins, with geometric design in blue at top …both are unicursal. mazes.

30. Roman A design for a Roman maze, in mosaic tile on a floor

31. Chartres Cathedral, France Labyrinths started to appear in churches as Christianity spread across Europe. The larger floor versions of these labyrinths may have been used as a path for miniature pilgrimages. The oldest- known church labyrinth is in Algeria (4th century BC). Here’s the famous Chartres labyrinth in France.

32. Italian An Italian labyrinth, possibly 17th century, painted on a ceiling. Similar to early Roman mazes.

33. Scandinavia Stone-lined Swedish labyrinth Earth labyrinth, Northern Norway

34. Versailles, France In the late 17th century, Louis XIV had a labyrinth constructed as a part of the gardens at Versailles. Upper left is the original design. Bottom image, after a violent windstorm destroyed 3000 trees in the late 1990s.

35. Hampton Court, England Hedge mazes date back to the Roman times, and are very popular in Britain. The Hampton Court maze is the most famous. It occupies a quarter of an acre, and was constructed in 1690, on the site of an earlier maze. Like most hedge mazes, the shrubs that form the Hampton Court maze's walls are taller than the height of most of its visitors.

36. India Classical labyrinth painted on the floor in the Temple of Kali Stone labyrinth near Madras

37. England The Bristol Water Maze (Victoria Park). Water wells up at the centre and flows along its eleven rings. A twig or leaf is then slowly floated along the entire length. The “Imprint,” a hedge maze in Gloucestershire. Built in1975, it is based on the Minotaur design and portrays the footprint of a Colossus.

38. Native American The famous Hopi design, “Man in a Basket”

39. Grace Cathedral, San Francisco The Warren Street Underground Station, London Contemporary Mazes

40. United States, Corn Mazes

41. Uses of mazes…. For contemplation, meditation, religious purposes (Chartres) Educators and librarians use mazes in activities that encourage creative problem-solving, build math skills, and improve concentration (maze books; creating mazes) Aesthetics (Versailles; Hampton Court) For fun and entertainment (books; corn and hedge mazes)

42. How to make a Geometric Maze and a Random Roxie Reversing Maze Please scroll down, on the main WEBinar info page, and click on the links for instructions on how to make these two mazes.