The National Museum of Mathematics recently moved to a newer, much larger location at 635 Sixth Ave. in Chelsea. The additional space gained from the location led to the creation of features welcoming a diverse range of age groups, revealing inclusivity towards people who are passionate with math.The new location is reported to cater to an audience ranging from ages 2-102.
This new location is nearly twice the size of the previous site of this Mathematics museum, allowing space to open up 31 new interactive exhibits, a new art gallery created through the inspiration of math and a colorful space highly accessible and appealing towards toddlers and preschoolers.
“You might gain more interest from students that typically see themselves as more of an art type student by blending that with mathematics, you might actually get them to kind of see the beauty that they also have in mathematics.” mathematics teacher Mr. Turkovich said, “giving them an opportunity to see something that they might not normally see.”
After the Goudreau, a mathematics museum on Long Island closed, the National Museum of Mathematics was created. In Aug 2008, a group of individuals interested in the creation of a new museum dedicated to mathematics discovered that there was not a single museum of mathematics in the U.S. and therefore decided, one that would go far beyond the boundaries set by the Goudreau museum. The first National Museum of Mathematics opened in New York City on Dec 12 2012, founded by Glen Whitney and Cindy Lawrence established as North America’s only math museum with a large focus on a hands-on educational exhibition experience.
In total, the new location is over 36,000 square feet with more than 70 interactive exhibits with a large aim intended towards developing the younger generation’s relationship and understanding of math and their reality. Many reports on social media also claim that the new area allows more natural light to flow through the space.
The exhibits that seem to catch the most attention include the Square Wheeled Tricycle, Coaster Rollers and Twisted Thruway. These attractions seem to encourage collaborative activities. What might be appealing for people seeking a more challenging experience at the museum would be the Enigma Cafe, which offers puzzles often praised for its complexity. Due to the opening of the new location, the Enigma Cafe has grown and developed attention towards probability and number properties.
“Combining math and art provides students with a way to enjoy learning about math that is more than just numbers,” sophomore Maya Shamash said.
Besides exhibits, MoMath also runs a public lecture series called Math Encounters that teaches topics such as A.I., cryptography, puzzles, geometry and space math through talks from famous mathematicians and scientists, some of which include John Urschel, a speaker who is both an NFL player and a mathematician, and Steven Strogatz, an applied math professor. Many of these talks are free to the public or live streamed.
While the opening of a new location has been an exciting development to many, some visitors still report feeling that the museum is too small, that the ticket price is too high and that weekends are far too busy and so are many weekends as a result of school field trips.
“The museum will give students throughout the city and the surrounding areas an opportunity to see a world class exhibit that’ll help them, spark their own interest, and hopefully lead them to pursue careers in mathematics and sciences” teacher Mr. Turkovich said.
