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{{Short description|Museum exhibit about mathematics}}
{{italic title}}
{{other uses|Mathematica (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
[[File:Mobius Strip.jpg|thumb|upright|Large [[Möbius strip]] with traveling arrow]]
'''''Mathematica: A World of Numbers... and Beyond''''' is a [[kinetic art|kinetic]] and static exhibition of mathematical concepts designed by [[Charles and Ray Eames]], originally debuted at the [[California Museum of Science and Industry]] in 1961. Duplicates have since been made, and they (as well as the original) have been moved to other institutions.<ref name="EamesOffice">{{cite web |title=Mathematica: A World of Numbers . . . and Beyond |url=https://www.eamesoffice.com/the-work/mathematica/ |website=Eames Office |access-date=2024-12-07}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Multiplication Machine.jpg|thumb|left|Multiplication machine]]
[[File:The Pseudosphere.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Pseudosphere]] model]]
In March, 1961 a new science wing at the [[California Museum of Science and Industry]]<ref name="CMS">Called the [[California Science Center]] since 1998.</ref> in Los Angeles opened. The [[IBM|IBM Corporation]] had been asked by the museum to make a contribution; IBM in turn asked the famous California designer team of [[Charles and Ray Eames|Charles Eames]] and his wife [[Charles and Ray Eames|Ray Eames]] to come up with a good proposal. The result was that the Eames Office was commissioned by IBM to design an interactive exhibition called ''Mathematica: A World of Numbers... and Beyond''.<ref name="rights">The physical component of the exhibit was owned by the museum, it was financially supported by IBM, and the Eames Office retained the artistic property rights.</ref><ref name="EamesOffice"/> This was the first of many exhibitions designed by the Eames Office.<ref name="Lefebvre">{{cite web |last1=Lefebvre |first1=Christine |title=Mathematica, the Eames-designed exhibit |url=https://christinelefebvre.com/theexhibitdesigner/mathematica |website=Christine Lefebvre Design |access-date=2024-12-07 |date=16 February 2010}}</ref>

The {{convert|3000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} exhibition stayed at the museum until January 1998, making it the longest running of any corporate sponsored museum exhibition.<ref name=DBoom>{{cite web|title=mathematica: a world of numbers... |url=http://www.designboom.com/eng/funclub/mathematica.html |work=DesignBoom |publisher=designboom.com |access-date=14 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221224931/http://www.designboom.com/eng/funclub/mathematica.html |archive-date=21 February 2012 }}</ref><ref name="EamesOffice"/> Furthermore, it is the only one of the dozens of exhibitions designed by the Office of Charles and Ray Eames that is still extant.<ref name="Lefebvre"/> This original ''Mathematica'' exhibition was reassembled for display at the Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery at [[Art Center College of Design]] in [[Pasadena, California]], July 30 through October 1, 2000. From October 6, 2001 to May 5, 2002, it was exhibited at the [[Exploratorium]] in San Francisco.<ref name="Tesler">{{cite web |last1=Tesler |first1=Pearl |title=Exploratorium Exhibition: Mathematica |url=https://annex.exploratorium.edu/mathematica/ |website=Exploratorium |access-date=2024-12-07}}</ref>

After 2004, it is now owned by and on display at the [[New York Hall of Science]] in [[Queens, New York]], though it currently lacks the overhead plaques with quotations from mathematicians that were part of the original installation.<ref name=Nysci>{{cite web|title=Mathematica|url=http://nysci.org/mathematica/|publisher=New York Hall of Science|access-date=6 March 2016|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306220038/http://nysci.org/mathematica/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Duplicates===
In November, 1961 an exact duplicate was made for Chicago's [[Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)|Museum of Science and Industry]], where it was shown until late 1980. From there it was sold and relocated to the [[Museum of Science (Boston)|Museum of Science]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], where it is permanently on display in the Theater of Electricity.<ref name="MOSBoston"/> The Boston installation bears the closest resemblance to the original Eames design, including numerous overhead plaques featuring historic quotations from famous mathematicians. As part of a refurbishment, a graphic panel was added to supplement the original History Wall timeline, to recognize the contributions of both men and women mathematicians of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.<ref name=MOSBoston>{{cite web |title=Mathematica |url=https://www.mos.org/visit/exhibits/mathematica |work=Museum of Science |publisher=The Museum of Science, Boston |access-date=2024-12-07}}</ref>

A third copy was made for the IBM Pavilion at the [[1964 New York World's Fair|1964/1965 New York World's Fair]].<ref name="NY Exhibit">Mathematician [[Moon Duchin]] mentions the ''Mathematica'' exhibit at the World's Fair on page 28 of her paper "The Sexual Politics of Genius", University of Chicago [http://mduchin.math.tufts.edu/genius.pdf].</ref> Subsequently, it was briefly on display in [[Manhattan]], and was then installed in the [[Pacific Science Center]] in [[Seattle]] where it stayed until 1980. It was briefly re-installed in New York City at the [[590 Madison Avenue]] IBM Headquarters Building, before being moved to [[SciTrek]] in [[Atlanta]] in 1998, but that organization was shut down in 2004 due to funding cuts. The exhibit was then shipped to [[Petaluma, California]] to Lucia Eames, the daughter of the original designers. In 2015, the exhibit was acquired by the [[Henry Ford Museum]] in [[Dearborn, Michigan]],<ref name="FordAcqires">{{cite web|title=Henry Ford museum acquires Eames' Mathematica exhibit|url=https://www.liveauctioneers.com/news/top-news/museums/henry-ford-museum-acquires-eames-mathematica-exhibit/|website=Auction Central News|publisher=LiveAuctioneers|access-date=2018-03-06|date=20 March 2015}}</ref> where it is now on display.<ref name="Ford">{{cite web |title=Visit Mathematica: Interactive Math Exhibit |url=https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/henry-ford-museum/exhibits/mathematica/ |website=The Henry Ford |access-date=2024-12-07 |language=en}}</ref>

==Exhibits==
Some of the displays are minimally interactive, in that they start to operate at the push of a button. Other displays are motorized and run continuously, or operate automatically on a fixed cycle as long as electrical power is supplied. The moving display elements combine with noise made by balls falling through the probability machine, to fill the exhibit space with an atmosphere of continuous activity.

* Large-scale [[bean machine]] showing the [[binomial distribution]] as an approximation of the [[normal distribution]] in [[probability theory]]
* [[Möbius strip]] with a motorized red arrow that can trace a complete circuit of the one-sided surface
* A curved funnel-shaped surface modeling a [[gravitational well]] using [[ball bearing]]s orbiting in ellipses
* A three-dimensional cube illustrating the concept of [[multiplication (mathematics)|multiplication]]
* [[Soap bubble]]s and films, as examples of [[minimal surface]]s
* [[Mechanical linkage]]s, such as the [[Sarrus linkage]]
* [[Topology|Topological surface]]s, such as the [[Klein bottle]]
* Models showing [[perspective (visual)|perspective]] and geometric [[projection (mathematics)|projection]]
* An arrangement of strings and lights demonstrating [[conic section]]s
* An automated dice game demonstrating [[random walk]]
* "Image Wall" of beautiful [[mathematics and art]] images, such as the [[Fibonacci series]] and the [[Golden Spiral]]<ref name="MOSBoston"/>
* "History Wall" [[timeline]] of mathematical thought and discoveries, and contributions from different world cultures<ref name="MOSBoston"/>

In addition, large placards hang from the ceiling, carrying interesting quotations from famous mathematicians. Some installations have omitted this feature, although it was an integral part of the original exhibition.

Five "Mathematical Peepshow" animated movies were created for the IBM Pavilion at the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair. They covered [[Eratosthenes]], [[Function (mathematics)|functions]], [[symmetry]], [[topology]], and [[Exponential function|exponential growth]].<ref name="Peepshow">{{cite web |title=IBM Mathematics Peep Show (1961) |url=https://letterboxd.com/film/ibm-mathematics-peep-show/ |website=Letterboxd |publisher=Letterboxd Limited |access-date=2024-12-07 |language=en}}</ref> The movies are now viewable on YouTube and other websites.

==''Men of Modern Mathematics'' poster==
In 1966, five years after the opening of the Mathematica Exhibit, IBM published a {{convert|2|x|12|ft|m|adj=on}} [[timeline]] poster, titled ''Men of Modern Mathematics''. It was based on the items displayed on the exhibit's History Wall, and free copies were distributed to schools. The timeline covered the period from 1000 AD to approximately 1950 AD, and the poster featured biographical and historical items, along with numerous pictures showing progress in various areas of science, including architecture. The mathematical items in this chart were prepared by Professor [[Raymond Redheffer]] of [[University of California Los Angeles|UCLA]].<ref name="obit">{{cite web |last1=Gamelin |first1=Theodore W. |title=Raymond Redheffer |url=https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/inmemoriam/html/raymondredheffer.htm |website=senate.universityofcalifornia.edu |access-date=29 January 2021 |date=2005}}</ref> Long after the chart was distributed, mathematics departments around the world have proudly displayed this chart on their walls.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="JJE"/>

In 2012, IBM Corporation released a free [[iPad]] application, ''Minds of Modern Mathematics'', based on the poster but updated to the present, including expanded coverage of [[List of women in mathematics|women mathematician]]s. The app was developed by IBM with the assistance of the Eames Office.<ref name=iPadApp>{{cite web|title=Free iPad App from IBM and Eames Office, Reinvents Iconic '60s-Era Infographic on History of Math|url=http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/37247.wss|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407160603/http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/37247.wss|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 7, 2012|work=IBM News Room|publisher=IBM Corporation|access-date=14 May 2012}}</ref><ref name="JJE">{{cite web |title=Mathematica: A World of Numbers... and Beyond |url=http://www.jamesjoyceencyclopedia.com/data/Communications/Mathematics/Mathematica.htm |website=James Joyce Encyclopedia |access-date=2025-01-04 |date=2015}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Mathematics and art]]
* [[Museum of Mathematics]] – a permanent museum of mathematics, in Manhattan, New York City
* ''[[Mathemalchemy]]'' – a traveling art installation of mathematical symbols, artifacts, and stories, created in 2021

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100623083120/http://www.artcenter.edu/mathematica/images7.html Mathematica exhibit in QuickTime VR] — as it appeared in a 2000 showing at the [[Art Center College of Design]] in [[Pasadena, California]]
*[http://whimsicalwill.tripod.com/CMSI.html CMSI] Remembering the California Museum of Science & Industry
*[http://www.mos.org/exhibits_shows/current_exhibits&d=1228 Mathematica Exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts]

{{mathematical art}}
{{Charles and Ray Eames}}
{{IBM}}

[[Category:Exhibitions in the United States]]
[[Category:Mathematics and culture]]
[[Category:1961 introductions]]
[[Category:IBM]]
[[Category:Mathematics museums]]
[[Category:Works by Charles and Ray Eames]]
[[Category:New York Hall of Science]]

Mathematica: A World of Numbers... and Beyond - Revision history

imported>Ser Amantio di Nicolao: /* top */ add {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}