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What are masks for?

Masks have been worn by many different people throughout history. They are worn around the world for different reasons.

The faces or characters that appear on masks come from stories, times in history or the mask-maker's imagination.

A person wearing a costume and decorated mask.
Image caption,
A masked person dressed as a harlequin at the carnival in Venice, Italy

Masks can be made from many different materials, such as wood, straw, stone and plastic.

Masks sometimes have parts on them. They also sometimes have parts that are layered for decoration. These might be slightly raised or bumpy.

Masks are usually worn over the face but sometimes they are worn on different parts of the body. For example, the Benin mask from West Africa was worn around the waist.

What are some of the reasons why people might wear a mask?

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Watch how to make your own 3D mask

Find out how to create a mask inspired by Benin masks from West Africa

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Masks around the world

Here are examples of some masks from different times and places. You could use these as inspiration to design or even make your own mask.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 5, A close up of a child's face wearing a top hat and a gold mask which covers the top half of their face. You can see their eyes through two holes in the mask., Venice Carnival masks in Italy Sometimes masks are worn as part of a carnival. This person is at the Venice Carnival. It happens every year in Venice, Italy. The carnival always involves costumes and masks. This mask is made using a technique called papier m芒ch茅. It has detailed patterns on it.
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Activity

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Quiz

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Five different cartoon masks in a row.

Glossary

Here are the meanings of some important words.

Mask - Masks can be worn to celebrate, to hide, to protect the face or for religious reasons.
Three-dimensional - Three-dimensional (3D) parts are not flat.

Five different cartoon masks in a row.
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