This year marks 150 years since the formation of the London Mathematical Society. To celebrate, we have organised a festival of mathematics that aims to challenge the common stereotypes about maths as hard, esoteric and inaccessible. Along with interactive theatre company non zero one, we’ve spent the last few months working closely with eight universities across the UK to bring their research to life.
Starting next week, part of the Museum will be transformed into the headquarters of news corporation ‘News-24’ as we bring you, What’s Your Angle?
We’ve managed to feature a wide spectrum of maths in the festival, from applied mathematicians working with agricultural scientists to pure mathematicians who look at unpredictable systems.
The biggest challenge was finding a way to present such a broad variety of research in one event. When we spoke to the research groups about maths in general, a lot of them said the same thing – maths is a tool to understand the world around you, and this is where we made the link to journalism.
Through interactive experiences and activities, What’s Your Angle? will give you the opportunity to interview real-life mathematicians about their research and share the stories they uncover through our very own festival news channel.
At the festival, you’ll be transported to a busy newsroom and sent to meet mathematicians and uncover news stories. Your job as a journalist could involve everything from joining a surf school to auditioning for a Greek tragedy to get the scoop on a story.
Without giving away too much, except dressing up, undercover missions, a lot of fun and you might even discover something new about maths.
The festival is free and starts on Wednesday 25 November 2015 at our monthly Lates, and continues over the weekend (28-29 November). Discover more at sciencemuseum.org.uk/whatsyourangle.
Will Hunter is a member of the Contemporary Science team at the Science Museum.