AGES 9+ · PATTERNS IN NATURE
The Fern’s Secret
Watch a fern grow, then look closer at a branch. What changes, and what looks familiar?
Tap the picture to pause or play, or use the controls below. Sound is off until you choose to enable it.
Look, pause, wonder
Many ferns show approximate self-similarity: parts resemble the whole at a few scales. This animation repeats a drawing rule; real plants have finite detail, variation, cells, and growth limits. Not every fractal is made of exact smaller copies.
Pause on a branch. Can you describe a resemblance without calling it an identical copy?
Read with the trio: The Little Seed’s Big Beginning.
Explore the mathematics further · Back to the interactive collection