This Square is Magical

A magic square is a grid where every row, column, and diagonal adds up to the same number.

The most basic magic square is a 3×3 grid using the numbers 1 through 9. When arranged just right, every line adds up to 15.

It’s like Sudoku’s cooler, older cousin with a touch of ancient mystery. Magic squares have been found in Chinese, Indian, and Islamic cultures dating back over 4,000 years. Some were even used as symbols of balance and harmony, carved into buildings or tucked into good-luck charms.

Benjamin Franklin loved magic squares. He even designed an 8×8 version where not just the rows and columns, but half-rows and bent diagonals.

Building one feels a bit like solving a riddle: every number has to be in just the right place for the whole system to work. But once it clicks, it’s deeply satisfying, like cracking a secret code made of numbers.

Try this at home: Grab a pencil and a 3×3 grid. Can your kids place numbers 1 through 9 so that every line adds up to 15?