How to Build a Geodesic Dome Model

This is a low-cost, easy-to-assemble model of one type of geodesic dome. Make the triangle panels described below with heavy paper or transparencies, then connect the panels with paper fasteners or glue.

Before we begin, it's helpful to understand some concepts behind the construction of the dome.

Types of Triangles
Geodesic domes are usually hemispheres (parts of spheres, like half a ball) made up of triangles. The triangles have 3 parts:

• the face - the part in the middle
• the edge - the line between corners
• the vertex - where the edges meet

All triangles have two faces (one viewed from inside the dome and one viewed from outside the dome), three edges, and three vertex.

There can be many different lengths in edges and angles of vertex in a triangle. All flat triangles have vertex that add up to 180 degrees. Triangles drawn on spheres or other shapes do not have vertex that add up to 180 degrees, but all the triangles in this model are flat.

One kind of triangle is an equilateral triangle, which has three edges of identical length and three vertex of identical angle. There are no equilateral triangles in a geodesic dome, although the differences in the edges and vertex are not always immediately visible.

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