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A special baby spoon that's curved to the side so it's easier for babies to get it into their mouth.
A rubber duck that has a weight only at the bottom so it always stays upright on the water and doesn't flip over.
A bandage that has one wider side to cover a big scrape on the knee.
Look at
quality scissors. Their handles aren't equal - there's one big hole for the fingers and a small hole for the thumb. Why? Because your hand isn't symmetrical!
The idea of asymmetry is "imbalance" - one side doesn't necessarily look exactly like the other side.
It usually helps us do all kinds of actions, even the most basic ones, in a way that's comfortable to use.
More examples:
A pitcher - it usually has a small spout it can pour the drink from, and that's only on one side of the pitcher, while on the other side there's a handle to hold. One side you hold, the other side you pour, and the sides don't look the same - that's asymmetry.
A chair with a backrest - the backrest is usually only on one side of the chair, so we can lean our back on it.
A slide - you climb up one side and slide down the other.
A pot with a long handle on only one side - so we don't get burned and can hold it from a distance on the stove.
Ready for a challenge? We've prepared some extra challenges for you to tryNow it's your turn to invent. Design a new object whose right side is deliberately different from its left side, and explain why that helps it work better.
Easy1. Draw a star or a non-symmetrical shape together, and pick a funny name for it.
2. Ask your child: which part of our body isn't symmetrical at all, and why is it good that it's that way.
A bit of a stretch3. Ask your child to design a chair or bench that only has a backrest on one side, and explain who it would suit.
4. Check together whether their pocket money is divided equally between their goals, or whether one goal gets more, and why that makes sense.
Challenge for champions5. Ask your child to design a school bag with two deliberately different sides, each side fitting a different item they carry every day.
6. Try together to think of a familiar product that's currently completely symmetrical, and imagine an asymmetrical version of it that would work better.