Some magic with maths

Hands On Maths’, an exhibition from Mathematikum, Germany, is currently being held at Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan and is attracting children and adults who are enthusiastic about learning more about the subject in an innovative manner. The exhibition will be on till June 15 from 10 am to 5 pm.

Twenty different exhibits, which require children to use their creativity and apply what they have learnt in school, makes this travelling exhibition a fun and learning process.

   Lalitha Nagaram, who is one of the coordinators of the exhibition, explains that they will be taking it to different parts of the country. “The exhibits have been made in such a way that they can be transported from one city to another. After Bangalore, the exhibition will go to Pune and then Chennai.

The whole idea was to promote the subject. In fact, many children have visited the exhibition since it has come to Bangalore. Now that schools are re-opening, we also have many schools asking us whether they can bring their students here,” she says.

The exhibits compel the onlooker to think out of the box. Most of them require the usage of the permutation-and-combination concept. It is indeed a hands-on experience of various mathematical concepts such as speed acceleration. For instance, those who are
confused about speed and related concepts can try out one of the exhibits, in which one has to roll a ball on an arch and then a straight track. “Though the distance of the straight track is shorter, the ball travels faster when placed on the arch owing to the curve,”
explains Vivek, a volunteer.

Similarly the ‘Square Puzzle’, where one has to fit squares of different sizes into a given space, makes one wrack their brains and think differently.

Naomi, a class two student, was thrilled to visit the exhibition. “My favourite is the ‘Square Puzzle’. I enjoyed the exhibition and will definitely tell my friends to visit it before it gets over. It’s a lot of fun and though I could not solve many of the puzzles, I learnt many things,” she notes.

Mervyn Pinto, who was there at the exhibition, says that many difficult math-
related theories have been broken down in a simple and innovative way. “I wish this exhibition had been there when I was growing up. The puzzles and exhibits are so interesting that one can spend the entire day here,” he says.