Chicago Museum Uses a Mirror Maze to Make Math Fun for Children

When the mystery of a maze meets the reflective powers of a mirror, the result is irresistible—and educational.

That’s what the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is finding with its 1,800-square-foot mirror maze, the centerpiece of “Numbers in Nature,” a new permanent exhibit that teaches visitors about the mathematical foundations of patterns found throughout the natural world.

“Kids love the mirror maze,” says John Beckman, the museum’s director of exhibit design and development. “A lot of people have never been in an environment like that before.”

Opened in 1933 and housed in the only surviving building from Chicago’s 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the museum finances its work through admissions, government support, and private contributions. An anonymous donor gave $5-million for the “Numbers in Nature” exhibit, which is free with regular paid admission but requires timed tickets to avoid overcrowding in the mirror maze.

Highlighting patterns in the natural world was seen as a way to make math engaging for visitors, according to Mr. Beckman.

“It was a great opportunity for us to put some explicit math content into our offerings, and do it in a way that was fun and experiential and had a low barrier of entry,” he says.

Not having math experts on staff, the museum sought guidance from outsiders. Advisers included Erik Demaine and Martin Demaine, a father-son pair of professors at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Emily Finchum, who teaches at Lane Technical High School in Chicago.

The exhibit opens with a film detailing the hidden mathematical patterns found in nature, art, and the human body. Interactive elements allow visitors to manipulate images of snowflakes, shells, and flowers to find patterns.

Then visitors travel through the mirror maze, where a secret room houses puzzles. When people emerge from the maze, they find a gallery featuring more interactive pieces, plus artifacts such as sheep antlers, honeycomb, and an aluminum casting of the internal passages of an anthill, which acts as a 3-D map of an underground world few humans ever get to see.

The Demaines also donated a piece of their folded paper art, which they use to solve mathematical problems, such as how proteins can be reconfigured, and to find algorithms.