Mathematikum interactive museum in Giessen makes good on message ‘math makes you happy’

I took Advanced Placement mathematics classes since elementary school, so you might think that I enjoyed learning that sort of thing. You would be wrong.

Math was, without question, my least favorite subject. Ironically enough, creative writing was a close second. Perhaps that contradiction is what recently drew me to Giessen, home of the self-proclaimed “first interactive math museum in the world.”  

The message “math makes you happy” on the walls and floor greeted me as I entered the first exhibit hall. I was still skeptical but tried to keep an open mind as I disregarded visions of the quadratic equation in my head and plunged into the nearly 200 individual displays in both German and English.   

Thankfully, the concept of interactive math at this place an hour north of Wiesbaden is less about multiplication tables and scribbling out solutions to equations, and more about exploring math concepts in easily digestible ways.

Mathematikum in Giessen, Germany, was established in 2002 as the "world's first interactive math museum." The museum has nearly 200 unique, interactive displays across three floors, that explain or demonstrate mathematical concepts in a fun and approachable way. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)

A series of geometric puzzles challenge visitors at Mathematikum in Giessen, Germany. The puzzles are part of a collection of over 170 math related exhibits found throughout the family museum. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)

The four-piece pyramid provides quite a challenge at Mathematikum in Giessen, Germany. Most of the nearly 200 exhibits in the museum are explained in both German and English. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)

The first few rooms in the museum were geometry-focused, which eased me into the experience, as I’ll gladly take shapes, area and volume over calculus any day of the week.  

A table with 10 different geometric puzzles pulled me in, and while I’m a bit ashamed to admit it took me far too long to solve the four-piece pyramid, I found everything enjoyable.  

I spent over two hours in total, exploring each room and exhibit across three floors, but I could have easily spent double that without getting bored. 

A brain teaser demonstrating the "traveling salesman problem" asks visitors to find the shortest route that visits all of Germany's capital cities without backtracking, at Mathematikum in Giessen, Germany. The solution certainly isn't what most visitors would initially guess. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)

The ball mover machine is one of a few large, unique contraptions found throughout the museum. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)

Highlights for me included a chessboard puzzle that challenges visitors by limiting their moves to those of a knight and a tour of Germany that demonstrated the “traveling salesman problem,” asking visitors to find the shortest route possible to all the capital cities without backtracking.

I also dug the Enigma machine on display in the coding exhibit room. It was only a replica of the Nazis’ encryption device of World War II, but the history buff in me appreciated it nonetheless. 

A replica Enigma machine is on display in the coding gallery of Mathematikum in Giessen, Germany. The cracking of the encryption machine of World World II fame was instrumental in the Allied victory of the war. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)

The current temporary exhibition is a collection of various optical illusions that challenge your thoughts on perception and perspective. Titled “Echt Jetzt?!” a German expression that is the equivalent of the incredulous interrogative “for real” in English, it runs through Sept. 13.  

While I found some of the displays amusing, many of them required two people, so I was a bit out of luck on my solo excursion.

Visitors examine various optical illusion displays in the temporary "Echt Jetzt?!" gallery at Mathematikum. The exhibit runs through mid-September. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)

I did enjoy a couple of the exhibits that challenged my perception of color, invoking memories of the viral internet blue-and-black or white-and-gold dress.

More than anything, though, the exhibition made me miss my wife and kids. I think my daughter, who is 5, would have been quite amused with the mirrored images and perspective paintings, which could only be fully appreciated with two people.

I don’t know when I’ll make it back to Giessen, but if the opportunity presents itself, I won’t hesitate to wrangle the family and drop in for a day of family fun — and perhaps a little learning along the way. 

Maybe math isn’t so bad after all.    

On the QT

Address: Liebigstrasse 8, Giessen, Germany

Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; weekends and public holidays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Cost: Adults, 12 euros; seniors 65 and older and children ages 6-17, 8.50 euros; family ticket, 28 euros

Information: +49 641-130910, www.mathematikum.de/en/