Maths at the Museum, including ‘A magic show’ by Tadashi Tokieda

Saturday March 14 from 12 – 4pm
Sunday March 15 from 12 – 4 pm

To celebrate International Day of Mathematics, SMRI presents our Maths at the Museum program, running at the Chau Chak Wing Museum (CCWM). 

The official theme of the International Day of Mathematics in 2026 is “Mathematics and Hope”. Across the weekend we will explore mathematical concepts with talks, panels, children’s activities in our Maths Craft Room as well as A magic show by Tadashi Tokieda (Stanford University). 

This integrated program of interactive maths activities will run across the weekend, coinciding with the opening weekend of the Biennale at the Museum! 
Please check back as more events are added!

Activities

A magic show, by Tadashi Tokieda

12:30 – 1:30 pm (almost sold out) and 2:00 – 3:00 pm (New slot-booking fast!) both Saturday and Sunday

Tadashi Tokieda, Stanford University

A magic show should not steal its own thunder with an abstract, but this one is easy for curious children and difficult for seasoned scientists, and you can try it yourself afterwards on friends and family!

About the presenter: Tadashi Tokieda is a professor of mathematics at Stanford.  He grew up as a painter in Japan, became a classical philologist (not to be confused with philosopher) and worked a little as a plumber in France and, after PhD in pure mathematics from Princeton, has been an applied mathematician around the world.  He is active in outreach e.g. via the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences and the YouTube channel Numberphile; he gave public lectures at ICM 2018 and 2022, and is slated to speak again at ICM 2026.

This event is hosted by the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute as part of our program for International Day of Mathematics. The talk will be tailored to a general audience and suitable for all ages, from children to adults! This is a free event, however registration is essential.

Maths craft activities (Saturday and Sunday 12 – 4 pm)

Get creative with a variety of maths craft activities – from making ‘origami fidget spinners’ to beautiful line art and much more, these activities use mathematical concepts to make interesting and beautiful works, many of which you can take home!

Make your own flexagon, and flexagon games!

Flexagons are like the fidget spinners of the origami world; constructed of folded paper, they reveal hidden faces when the paper is flexed.

Line art

Follow simple patterns to create colourful artwork using yarn or pen. This activity explores how you can use straight lines to form curves resulting in beautiful intricate designs.

3D Fractals

Fractals are mathematical objects built from repeated copies of themselves. Visitors will construct units that will then be combined to contribute to our large-scale Menger Sponge.

Weird mirrors

Use a variety of bendy and wacky mirrors to explore concepts such as symmetry, transformation and how to map a flat image onto a 3D object! Craft your own wacky mirror to take home.