Hexagonal means having six straight sides and six angles, like the shape of a stop sign but with two extra sides.

Honeycombs are made of hexagonal cells. Bees build thousands of six-sided cells to store honey and raise their young, and this shape turns out to be incredibly efficient: it uses less wax than many other shapes while creating a lot of storage space. Nature is full of hexagons: snowflakes have hexagonal crystals, some turtles have hexagonal patterns on their shells, and the Giant's Causeway in Ireland features many hexagonal rock columns formed by ancient volcanic eruptions.

Engineers and designers use hexagonal shapes because they fit together without gaps, making them strong and stable. Floor tiles, nuts and bolts, pencils, and even some board games use hexagonal shapes. The James Webb Space Telescope has hexagonal mirror segments that work together to capture images from deep space.

When you see something described as hexagonal, picture a shape with six sides meeting at six corners.