Get lost in A Mirror Maze: Numbers in Nature on view at Frost Science

Leave your calculator at home and discover the amazing mathematical patterns that surround us every day—from the skin on the back of your hand to the trees in your yard, and perhaps the home you live in. The most exciting part of this math lesson is trying to navigate a giant mirror maze—a sea of equilateral triangle chambers. A Mirror Maze: Numbers in Nature special exhibition, on view now at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Downtown Miami, exposes and explains the mathematical patterns that abound in the natural world.

The centerpiece of A Mirror Maze: Numbers in Nature is an elaborate mirror maze where you can lose yourself in a seemingly infinite repeating pattern of mirrors. This arrangement of symmetry and tessellation provides an introduction to patterns and how math surrounds us every day. Dead ends are scattered throughout the maze, and hidden within the experience is a small secret room, rewarding guests with bonus puzzles and artifacts. Can you find the secrets within?

Hands-on activities within the exhibition allow for further exploration of mathematics—such as fractal branching, spirals, Voronoi patterns, the Golden Ratio (ψ), and more. The exhibition also features an array of artifacts—Bighorn sheep antlers, honeycomb, and an aluminum anthill casting—that demonstrate real examples of patterns in objects from the natural world. You’ll never look at the world the same way again!

A Mirror Maze: Numbers in Nature will be on view through Sunday, April 12, 2020. The exhibition was created by the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (MSI). Learn more at frostscience.org/mirrormaze.