There's a Museum of Mathematics? Yes, right here in New York. But it may not be what you would expect. At least not what I expected. I thought I would see glass showcases and hand-written formulas for something to do with Pythagorus or maybe even some early clacualting machines in all of their brass glory, possibly even a shrine to Steam Punk.
But no. The Musuem of Mathematics, or MoMath is a fully interactive hands on mathematical experience. It encourages the patrons to engage in an activity then explore the maths behind it, although I suspect some of the younger kids look at the bells and whistles then move to the next set of inviting gadgetry. It's very similar to Questacon in Canberra, though not as big and focused mainly on maths, with a bit of physics thrown in.
Staffed mostly by Maths grads or college students, they are only too eager to have a dialogue about the wonders of the maths behind the exhibits, like why the square-wheeled tricycle is easy to peddle or why some shapes are more efficient than spheres to act as rollers beneath a heavy object. One helpful guide told me about the imbalances of the Mathematics curriculum and that it is "too heavy on number" and "not everyone's good at number" so this, in his mind, redressed that imbalance somewhat.
At the end of my experience was the manditory gift shop. I was actually a bit afraid to go in. I feared I would need extra luggage to carry back to Australia, all of the maths goodies on offer. I managed to restrict myself to 3 items only and those being relatively flat-packed.
All in all, The Museum of Mathematics was a worthwhile experience, though not the type I expected. I would love to take my class there, and watch as they had authentic mathematical experiences, chatted with dudes that loved Maths and had a hands-on mathemagical extravaganza!
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