Mathematikon in Heidelberg

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Mathematikon in Heidelberg
From Feb. 18, 2016
Mathematikon shops|Mathematikon|Berliner Str. 41-49|Heidelberg|69120|DE

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The Mathematikon building complex has been planned and built by the Mathematikon Heidelberg GmbH (n. S. R.) & Co. KG.

Can you imagine modern mathematical content integrated into a shopping center?
Together with mathematicians and artists from all over the world—precisely from 14 countries—IMAGINARY created a unique composition of art gallery, shopping center and science center. The aim of the mathematical installations at the Mathematikon shops is to encourage people to think about mathematics during everyday errands, to amaze and to activate thoughtprovoking impulses. We want to reach mathematicians as well as people with little or no contact to mathematics and provide a special shopping experience for kids and adults alike.

The mathematical image gallery: Twelve large format images are presented together with easy-to-read descriptions. They provide an insight into different fields of mathematics.

The conveyor belts: For the supermarket and the drug-store of the shopping center, we created four different mathematical designs for the conveyor belts, so waiting at the cashiers can be fun and entertaining.

The multi touch screen station: The highlight of the mathematical content in terms of popularity as well as state of the art technology is the 84 inch multi touch screen station. It is mounted vertically in the central hall of the shopping mall. Altogether 10 interactive math games based on the Cinderella applets by Jürgen Richter-Gebert are offered, two of them can be explored at the same time; at a height for adults and children.

Riddles: Integrated in the bathroom mirrors are screens, which display 25 short riddles. The technique hides the screens, so only the writing can be seen. After a countdown, the solution is given, which is mostly just one word or a number. The riddles are of varying difficulty and cover different areas of mathematics.

Classic quotes: Two classic mathematical quotes by Gauss and Galileo are displayed on the glass walls near the elevators to be viewed from almost any angle in the public area of the shopping center. The quotes intend to be thought provoking and emphasize the central and important role of mathematics.

Shop window display: Shop windows of an unoccupied shop unit were used to temporarily display a combination of math and art. Starting with the general concept of polyhedra, we introduce some basic background information like the Euler characteristic, nets of polyhedra and more.