MWUK Newsletter #2
Our second newsletter is now available to view and download right here!
A quick correction: the newsletter refers to crowdfunding for the Ring-of-Fire exhibit, but in the last few days a kind donor has offered to pay for this in full, so we have switched the crowdfunding project to the upcoming Pendulum Wave exhibit! You can read more about this exhibit here.
MATRIX Conference Report by Richard Elwes
The MATRIX Conference (“Mathematics Awareness, Training, Resource, & Information Exchange”) was hosted over 1-3rd September at University of Leeds, co-organised by the University’s School of Mathematics, the charity MATHSWORLDUK, and New York’s MoMath (the National Museum of Mathematics).
The meeting represented a remarkable gathering of more than a hundred top maths communicators from the UK, Europe, and around the world. It featured a line-up of thirty short talks, plus two public lectures. An impressive accompanying exhibition filled a large hall in The Edge. ...
April Update
In collaboration with the National Museum of Mathematics (MOMATH) in New York and the University of Leeds, MATHSWORLDUK are hosting the MATRIX conference September 1st-3rd, 2016 in Leeds.
A MATHSWORLDUK team of six helpers participated in a very successful Science Fair at Leeds City Museum on Saturday April 2nd and had close to 900 visitors, mainly families. The exhibits included constructing Platonic solids, a Maths in Medicine Quiz, and the Tautochrone.
Members of the Executive have continued to build contacts both in Yorkshire and in London, as well as with ...
November Update
Public Engagement
In September 2015, MATHSWORLDuk participated in the Bradford Science Festival, on the Saturday in the City Centre and on the Sunday in the University. By invitation and in association with the London Mathematical Society we also took part in the Bloomsbury Festival in October 2015, this time on the Saturday in Senate House and on Sunday in Brunswick Square. We had on display the Parabolic Bounces and the Tautochrone exhibits, as well as the platonic solids, used to model viruses, with their nets and a maths in medicine quiz. Once again, visitors of ...
MWUK Participation in the BIG BANG Science Fair and the Leeds Festival of Science
The Big Bang Science Fair (described as the ‘largest celebration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics for young people in the UK’) took place at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham from 11th - 14th March 2015. The following week on Saturday, 21st March 2015 the Leeds Science Festival took place at the University of Leeds.
MATHSWORLDUK participated on all four days in Birmingham and in the Engineering Experience section at the Leeds Science Festival. At each venue there were two specially commissioned interactive exhibits – the Parabo...
Latest Updates from MathsWorldUK
Matrix Conference and the Dresden Declaration proposalThe Matrix conference held in Dresden in September 2014 was the first international meeting specifically devoted to mathematics museums and exhibitions, and it gathered representatives from Europe and the Americas . The conference was organized by the Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in New York and Erlebnisland Mathematik in Dresden, in partnership with the KoMSO network and IMAGINARY. Unfortunately, due to a last minute illness, the MWUK delegate was unable to attend the conference.
A debate was initiated about ...
Maths Gallery announced by the Science Museum
We welcome the announcement by the Science Museum, on September 10th, of an exciting new Mathematics Gallery, with designs by Zaha Hadid, due to open at the museum in late 2016.
MATHSWORLDUK has been associated with these developments since our first meeting with the Director of the Science Museum in 2012 and our co-chair, Professor Margaret Brown, is a member of the Advisory Panel for the gallery.
However, the vision of the new gallery, based as it is on the Science Museum's own collection, differs to a large extent from our own vision, which highlights interactive ...
IMA Festival of Mathematics, Manchester, 3rd-4th July 2014
MATHSWORLDUK was represented at this unique festival in the Alan Turing Building in the University of Manchester which was attended by over 500 students from secondary schools in Manchester and the North West. We had 2 large exhibits, Parabolic Bounces which we developed as a prototype in collaboration with Science Projects of Acton, and Pouring Pythagoras which we hired with encouragement from staff at Techniquest at Cardiff. We also had a smaller pilot exhibit Fractal Cubes, developed by a volunteer in co-ordination with the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds.
Summer Conferences 2014
MATHSWORLDUK will be represented at 2 conferences in September. One is the first meeting of MATRIX (Mathematics Awareness, Training, Resource, & Information Exchange) in Dresden, September 18-20th, which brings together mathematics museums and exploratoriums from all over the world; we are giving a paper on our progress. The second is ASDC (Association of Science Discovery Centres) which meets at the Royal Society on September 23rd-24th, where we will also be giving a presentation.
MATHSWORLDUK FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
MATHSWORLDUK launched its fund-raising campaign at a special event in the Churchill Room of The House of Commons on Wednesday, 5th February 2014. This event was sponsored by Nationwide and was hosted by Julian Huppert MP. Those in attendance were invited to represent the science and mathematics communities and the worlds of finance, town planning, architecture, engineering and other important maths-using sectors, as well as the museum sector. Matt Parker was the witty chair of the proceedings. After Julian Huppert welcomed those attending, we heard enthusiastic speeches ...
