Human faces, in general, have the same features: bilaterally symmetrical, with a nose centered, and ears on either side. However, despite these similarities within the species, faces are incredibly diverse. Since a face can be tied to its owner through use of photographs or government identification documents, it makes sense that facial recognition technology has continued to grow in recent years.

Facial recognition technology is swiftly gaining ground in a wide variety of fields, from identification for passports and phone unlocking, to policing and monitoring of a populace, to diagnosis of disease. Many of us take for granted that, unless we are identical twins, our faces are unique.

In this activity, students will explore similarities and differences between their faces and those of classmates.

A sheet of clear overhead projector sheet, 1 per student

1.      Working in pairs, have each student hold the overhead against their own face so that it curves around the sides, but does not restrict breathing.

2.      Their partner will then draw dots or points at several different places on sheet:

a.      Eyebrows: both ends and underneath the arch

b.      Eyes: Both outer corners and one at each “peak”

c.      Forehead: Between the eyebrows

d.      Nose: At the tip, just under the septum, one on either side of each nostril

e.      Cheeks: Where the cheekbone protrudes furthest

f.       Mouth: One at each corner, one at the bottom, one at the peak on the upper lip

3.      When finished, connect the dots with straight lines to roughly outline facial features. See the picture above for a suggestion:

4.      Swap places and have them do the same for their partner

5.      When finished, have students go around and overlay their sheet with those of other students. Compare and contrast their features compared to others.

·        More or fewer dots/ facial points can be identified and added depending on available time

·        Place the overhead sheets at the front of the class, either on an overhead projector or taped to the board. Can students identify their classmates?

·        An interesting website to explore is: 

Refresh the page to cycle through the different faces. Most of the time, you will get what appears to be a random human face, which has been generated by a computer using machine learning to identify what facial features “go together.” This isn’t 100% accurate though, as sometimes when another person is in the photo the second face will appear warped. An interesting exploration of how machines perceive faces and how they “should” look.

·        Another interesting computer-recognition website: 

o  An A.I. developed by Google to recognize drawings, no matter how poor your artwork

Standards for Who Am I