Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle
A miniature for the ages
Numbers in Nature: A Mirror Maze
Patterns surround us in nature. They'll tell you how things work on our planet, if you know where to look to find them.
See yourself reflected in the science of patterns
Out the window, through a microscope, or in the mirror — patterns surround us. They form the veins of a leaf, the spiral of a nautilus and the spots on a giraffe. The patterns of nature also inspire us as we create or build things, and our key to unlocking these patterns is math.
What to expect
Explore the pervasiveness of patterns in this immersive experience. Optical illusions, a large-format film and interactive activities will help you discover the math behind these beautiful patterns. Enter the mirror maze to step inside a massive pattern: a dizzying, seemingly infinite sea of triangles to navigate and find the secrets inside — including the way out. Complete the journey in an interactive gallery where you'll uncover the patterns in your own body and in centuries of music, art and architecture. Once you start to notice all the patterns around you, it can be hard to stop. Numbers in Nature is included with General Admission, and requires a free timed-entry ticket available onsite. Learn more about the exhibit below.
Hands-on activities
It's the ultimate "ah ha" moment — an experience of math that is hardly by the numbers. Maybe you've been in a mirror maze before, but where else could you also be exploring math and science as you laugh and feel your way through a maze? Step up to a mirror and it measures and draws your body's proportions. The "golden ratio" will suddenly seem plain as the nose on your face. Never look at the world the same way again.
Embark on a visual journey with an immersive large-format theater, where a four-minute film reveals the elegance and pervasiveness of patterns in nature. Captivating images of nature, the human body, even art and architecture are shown with overlaid animated computer graphics to describe the mathematical patterns beneath these familiar objects.
The Patterns
To begin finding the patterns around us, it helps to know what they look like. Numbers in Nature introduces four in particular.
Spirals are curves that start from a center point and get further and further away as they circle around that point. They can be found in pinecones, pineapples and hurricanes. A logarithmic spiral is a special type of spiral where the distance between each turn of the spiral is progressively larger than the one before it, as in a nautilus shell.
Educational Opportunities
Numbers in Nature: A Mirror Maze reveals and explains the mathematical patterns that abound in the natural world. Created by the Museum’s Center for the Advancement of Science Education, the Numbers in Nature pre- and post-visit lessons and field trip exploration guide are linked to what students are learning in the classroom. The exhibit demonstrates how nature has an inherent structure that can be expressed through numeric and geometric patterns. These mathematical tools help us understand, manipulate and appreciate the world around us. Numbers in Nature is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, including:
- Science and engineering practices like developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, and analyzing and interpreting data.
- Crosscutting concepts like patterns, structure and function, and scale, proportion and quantity.
- Disciplinary core ideas like engineering design (ETS1) and from molecules to organisms: structures and processes (LS1).
Classroom Lessons
To enhance a Numbers in Nature field trip, teachers can use free classroom lessons before and after their visit.
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