This article describes students learning to build their own numbering system by recognizing and identifying patterns with interlocking cubes in different place values. The students used the Egyptian hieroglyphic numeral system in conjunction with this activity to connect learning in other subjects. Students used prior knowledge of place value to create a non-traditional representation of place value and quantity. The task utilized students' prior knowledge of place value and base values to deepen understanding of the exchange of numbers and geometrical representations of numbers.