Science Centres, museums and art galleries across the country take part in Maths Week Scotland every year with special events, activities and exhibitions. Find out what is happening near you on our events page, or check out the places below which have taken part in Maths Week Scotland before and offer maths activities all year round. If you have no museums, galleries or science centres near you, many also offer online activities to do at home, some of which we have highlighted below.
Science Centres
Mathematics is one of the oldest sciences, so you will find lots of maths related activities at any of these science centres around Scotland:
The Museum on the Mound is all about the history of money and banking, so you will find a lot of money related maths here, including a family trail and other hands-on activities such as cracking a safe. Admission is free.
Visit the National Museum of Flight at East Fortune Airfield and take part in our Museum of Flight Family Maths Trail. You can either print off a copy of the trail before your visit, or download it to your phone. Once you've answered all the questions, head to the Fantastic Flight hangar where you'll find more maths in all the interactive science activities.
The National Museum of Scotland covers a wide range of topics, so you will find maths connections in many of the displays there, in particular in the Science & Technology galleries. 'Earth in Space' also has a beautiful collection of navigational instruments used to measure the world, and there are lots of shapes and patterns to discover in the Art & Design galleries. There is also a downloadable 'World of Maths' trail, which was designed for schools but can be enjoyed by families too.
For activities at home, Ancient Egyptian Maths is a resource that was developed for schools, but includes activities that can also be done at home.
Come along to Summerlee Museum and take part in their free Family Maths Trail. Follow the map around the museum and solve the puzzles as you go. Pick up the trail for free in the exhibition hall, or ask at reception.
Visit the National Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride and take part in our Family Maths Trail. You can either print off a copy of the trail before your visit, or download it to your phone. Aimed at families with pre-school children and children in lower primary school.
There's lots of shapes, patterns, and more to discover at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art both indoors and outdoors, with free family trails to guide you round. They have also produced some Maths Week Scotland resources for schools, some of which are suitable for families too, in particular the Maths in Motion activity pack which includes reflections and activities for six different artworks that you can do at home.
In advance of this year's 30 Days Wild, we caught up with Christine from Welly Walkers Childminding Family in Aberdeenshire, to have a chat about how they used our 30 Days Wild maths resources last year.
