An extension would be to think about rectangular grids and compare and contrast them to square grids. Have fun with this activity!
Try this 3 by 3 on the left side. Then, I have taken the same exact 3 by 3, just put one below the other and connected them to form a 3 by 6, with the same orange and blue pattern, just connected from top to bottom.
What do you notice? What patterns are similar? What patterns are different? Try and start with districts of 3. What patterns, if any, do you see if the "shape" of these districts? Maybe the districts can be bent Try using different size districts.
Play around with it, and post what you observe! There are so many different extensions to this puzzle!