About
Overview
The Philosophy of Mathematics Project is a virtual gallery highlighting physical artifacts that are important to the history of mathematics. Content is presented in a variety of forms and at a range of levels, making it accessible to children and experts alike. Extensive computational explanations and interactive content make use of the Wolfram Language to explain and demonstrate the mathematics involved. The virtual exhibits and their navigation are entirely built from source notebooks using the Wolfram Language, the Wolfram Knowledgebase and the Wolfram Cloud, allowing the content and website to be easily maintained and extended. The project was generously funded by the Overdeck Family Foundation for the benefit of the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in New York City.
Brief Overview
With rich interactive exhibits and immersive Learning Journeys, the project enhances mathematics education inside and outside the classroom. With a mix of storytelling, historical context and hands-on exploration, it seeks to pique curiosity and expand the appreciation of the rich history of how our current mathematics came to be.
Virtual Exhibits
The project includes nine virtual exhibits, each corresponding to a general topic area of mathematics. Each virtual exhibit gives a brief textual description of the mathematical area and its historical context, together with navigation to other exhibits, clickable thumbnails for individual artifacts within the exhibit and a clickable timeline.
Artifact Pages
The project contains around 75 artifacts. Each artifact page contains navigation to other exhibits, date, summary tagline, short description, a main ("hero") image, detailed description, additional image thumbnails (browsable as an image carousel), detailed clickable metadata (dimensions, location, catalog number, …), a clickable timeline, other interactive web resources, additional reading (bibliography) and additional links. Interactive content gives hands-on exploration of artifact content, while computational explanations give details of the mathematical content that make extensive use of the Wolfram Language.
Learning Journeys
Learning Journeys are a series of graphical and interactive historical essays that connect and explore mathematical ideas across cultures and time. They provide an engaging journey through mathematical artifacts for students and virtual museum visitors. They include interactive content and are primarily visual and descriptive with minimal advanced mathematics, making them ideal for classroom exploration or as a teaching tool. They also contain images and links to more detailed and mathematical artifact write-ups.
Additional Resources
Virtual Exhibit Screenshots
Learning Journey Screenshots
Select Artifact Page Screenshots
The Project and Sponsors
Site Announcement
Livestreams
About Wolfram
Wolfram has been defining the computational future for more than three decades, pioneering the delivery of computational intelligence to consumers, businesses and developers. Founded by Stephen Wolfram in 1987, Wolfram is the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha and the Wolfram Language, and is a longtime powerhouse of scientific and technical innovation. Its products have been key to countless inventions and discoveries, as well as the education of several generations of students.
About the National Museum of Mathematics
MoMath, the National Museum of Mathematics, is an award-winning museum that highlights the role of mathematics in illuminating the patterns and structures all around us. Its dynamic exhibits, galleries and programs are designed to stimulate inquiry, spark curiosity and reveal the wonders of mathematics. The museum's innovative exhibits will engage visitors of every age, from 1 to 100!
About Overdeck Family Foundation
Overdeck Family Foundation was founded in 2011 by John and Laura Overdeck with the goal of enhancing education both inside and outside the classroom. The Foundation focuses on funding evidence-based programs and research in data-driven, transformational areas of education that include early childhood, K-9 math, science, and informal STEM education.