NON-FICTION

Edel Wignell's articles for children and adults have been published in magazines in Australia, New Zealand, the USA and the UK.

She also writes non-fiction books for children, some being commissioned by publishers.

Read 'Amazing', an article for children 9-12 years, first published in Blast Off! School Magazine, July 2000, and in SIRS Mandarin CD-ROM and database (USA), September 2000.

NON-FICTION BOOKS

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A-MAZING!
Non-fiction for children 9-12 years.
Edel Wignell ©

This article was first published in Blast Off! School Magazine, July 2000, and in SIRS Mandarin CD-ROM and database (USA), September 2000.

Have you joined the maze craze? Thousands of people are visiting mazes all around the world. Another name for a maze is a labyrinth.

Kinds of Mazes

Most traditional mazes are made of trees, creepers, wood, stone, tiles or grass. But some new ones are made of mirrors, water jets, chains, ropes, interlocking plastic tiles and stained glass. Maze designers like to create something different. New mazes are being invented all the time.

Hedge mazes are usually made of pine trees. They are planted close together, and clipped. The hedge walls are higher than a tall man. The gardener needs special stilts to reach up and clip them.

Timber mazes are paths with high wooden walls. Usually you have to find surprises in these mazes.

In rose mazes, rose bushes line the paths and grow over trellises and gates. It's best to visit in summer when the roses are blooming.

Stepping stone mazes have stepping stones across grass, flowering creepers, ground covers, shrubs and herbs, such as thyme.

Usually turf mazes are patterns cut in grass. You wend back and forth and around until you reach the centre. Then you wend your way out.

Imagine a maize maze. Maize (or corn) can grow three metres tall - a long way over your head!

Tile mazes are laid as paving on the floors of shopping malls and churches.

Water mazes have paths between rows of fine water jets or fountains.

Mirror mazes amaze you with their optical illusions!

A maze is a mystery
Have you ever been lost in a maze? It's amazing how long it takes to solve the mystery and find your way out.

There are many different maze patterns. Simple mazes haven't any walls. Their paths have no false turns or dead ends. Complex mazes are walled networks of paths or passages. They wind around and connect with other paths or passages. Some have false turns or dead ends.

Dead ends
Most mazes have many dead ends to trick you. When you reach a dead end, you have to turn back and try a different path. In some mazes, the dead ends are padlocked gates which can be moved about. If you visit every year, you will be tricked every time!

Getting lost
It's tricky finding your way in a walled maze. The walls are so high, you can't see over them. Some mazes have a lookout tower or a bridge in the centre. You can climb up and look down on the maze. If you can't find your way out, don't worry. Someone will rescue you!

Hampton Court Maze
The oldest hedge maze in the world is the Hampton Court Maze. It is in the garden of Hampton Court Palace on the outskirts of London (England). The maze was planted from 1689 to1694.

Why are mazes made today?
People make mazes to give children fun and to entice tourists to visit. Many mazes have a special activity. Here are two:

• a treasure hunt with a prize for finding things
• a card with quiz questions to be answered as you walk

Some mazes have a special space in the centre. One has a play and party space with trees and a dinosaur. Another has a theatre for actors and circus performers.

Why were mazes made in the past?
In England and Europe, mazes were made for fun and protection.

• Village fun
  Villages had a large open place where people met for a fair or a market. Many had a turf maze in the space, too. People walked or skipped through it. When they reached the centre, they turned and followed a new leader out.
• Protection
  Imagine an enemy army marching up to capture a castle. If a maze had been planted at the entrance, the army was delayed. Guards had time to call extra soldiers to defend the castle.

Design a maze
Work on paper first. Then get permission to draw your maze with chalk on bitumen or concrete. You could make a textured maze on a wall with strips of towelling. Little children could trace it with their fingers.

Visit a maze
If there is a maze near you, visit it. Perhaps you can't afford to travel in the real world, but you can visit mazes in cyberspace. See a database of mazes on: www.maze-world.com.

The most famous modern maze designer is Adrian Fisher in England. You can see some of his mazes on his website: www.mazemaker.com.

A-mazing facts

• The world's oldest mirror maze is in the Glacier Gardens in Lucerne, Switzerland. It was opened in 1895.
• The world's largest hedge maze is in Hawaii, an island state of the USA.
• Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England has a 'Chinese Puzzle Maze'.
• The first maize maze was designed by Adrian Fisher in 1993. By 1999 there were 24 maize mazes in the USA, Canada, England, France, Spain, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand. All the designs are different. See some of them on: www.maizemaze.com.
• At Fishermen's Wharf in San Francisco, California (USA), there is a mirror maze in a pirate's cavern, and a 'Lazermaze' - a video game with hand-held lasers.
• The timber 'Frog Hollow Maze' at Albury, New South Wales (Australia), has two halves, joined by a bridge. In summer, it is shaded by grape vines. Musicians, actors and members of the Fruit Fly Circus often perform in a courtyard theatre within the maze.
• At the Egeskov Castle, Fyne Island, Denmark, there is a bamboo maze.
• A rock carving, the Casa Grande Maze, in South Arizona (USA), is a seven-ring maze from 1100-1200 AD.
• A maze in a floor mosaic in Chartres Cathedral, France, was laid in 1235 AD.
• In Scandinavia, over 600 stone labyrinths line the shore of the Baltic Sea. It is said that they were built by fishermen who walked through them before they set off on their fishing trips. They hoped to lead evil spirits into the labyrinths, and confuse them, while they set off to sea.