Chalkdust Book of the Year 2025 - Chalkdust We announce the shortlist of our favourite maths-themed books of last year

^ That's squirreled away in a review for one of Chalkdust Magazine's shortlisted Books of the Year 2025*, and I think it deserves to be wandering the world on its own.

Share if you agree!

#MathsInMuseums #MathsToday

* chalkdustmagazine.com/book-of-the-...

Chalkdust Book of the Year 2025 - Chalkdust We announce the shortlist of our favourite maths-themed books of last year

"[...] questioning the patterns we see around us is as fundamental an aspect of human nature as creating art, music, literature. It’s part of who we are as a species."

Share if you agree!

#MathsToday #MathsInMuseums

"[...] questioning the patterns we see around us is as fundamental an aspect of human nature as creating art, music, literature. It’s part of who we are as a species."

That's squirreled away in a review for one of Chalkdust Magazine's shortlisted Books of the Year 2025*, and I think it deserves […]

Oooh, this looks like a great opportunity for some #MathsInMuseums!

I'm in the @royalarmouries.bsky.social cafe, having had a bit of a browse. They are *not yet* one of the Leeds museums I've got signed up for #CityOfMaths, but I'm hoping to wear them down eventually! If anyone wants to chat about the funding I've got for a #MathsInMuseums project I'm right here!

Last call for signed copies of *The Mathematicians' Library* posted in the UK before 𝑥mas!

Final posting date for 2nd class is this Wednesday (17th) and I'll be giving some #MathsInMuseums training then, so it needs to be today or tomorrow! […]

The Mathematicians’ Library *** If you’d like a signed copy of The Mathematicians’ Library get in touch! *** About the book ISBN: 9781836004851 Published: 11th September 2025 The Mathematicians’ Library is a…

Last call for signed copies of *The Mathematicians' Library* posted in the UK before 𝑥mas!

Final posting date for 2nd class is this Wednesday (17th) and I'll be giving some #MathsInMuseums training then, so it needs to be today or tomorrow!

tkbriggs.co.uk/other-projec...

#MathsToday

#MathsInMuseums #MathsToday 🏛️🎓

First day of our Maths in Museums, Wild Maths completed with Lundavra Primary School in partnership with National Museums Scotland
We are already looking forward to tomorrow!!
#MathsWeekScot #mathsinmuseums

I've had lots of little conversations about #MathsInMuseums over the last 3 days at #GEMConference2025.

Next up is #MathsConf39 in October, where I'll be delivering a workshop on enriching maths lessons with history content.

#MathsToday

I've had lots of little conversations about #MathsInMuseums over the last 3 days at #GEMConference2025.

Next up is #MathsConf39 in October, where I'll be delivering a workshop on enriching maths lessons with history content.

#MathsToday

I'll also say that if you took part in this #MathsInMuseums thing on Saturday morning at #TMiP25 and you haven't yet sent me your thoughts (possibly with supporting pictures) please do!

On Saturday I did a thing in a museum with a bunch of maths communicators (as part of #TMiP25). I'm going to write up what we found later, properly, but I wanted to quickly record that we did it: tkbriggs.co.uk/talking-maths-in-museums...

#MathsToday #MuseumEd #maths […]

Talking Maths-in-Museums in Public (in Coventry) 2025’s Talking Maths in Public (TMiP) conference was hosted by the University of Warwick. The pre-conference Wednesday night social (including a performance by the Pseudorandom Ensemble) and …

On Saturday I did a thing in a museum with a bunch of maths communicators (as part of #TMiP25). I'm going to write up what we found later, properly, but I wanted to quickly record that we did it: tkbriggs.co.uk/talking-math...

#MathsToday #MuseumEd #maths #museums #MathsInMuseums

Thanks to everybody who took part in my #MathsInMuseums activity at #TMiP25 this morning. Some people have sent me some of the ideas they had, and I'm hoping a few more will when they've recovered from the conference!

I'm doing a #MathsInMuseums thing in Coventry this weekend. It's for people attending @TMiP but I will share findings.

In preparation, what mathematical themes have you already spotted at Coventry Transport Museum?

If you're associated with a different museum or gallery, you could get me to […]

I'm doing a #MathsInMuseums thing in Coventry this weekend. It's for people attending @tmip.bsky.social, but I will share findings.

In preparation, what mathematical themes have you already spotted at Coventry Transport Museum?

#MathsToday

I know there aren't many people exploring the fediverse from the UK heritage sector, but worth a try: is anyone out there associated with a museum or gallery (etc) in Leeds?

I would like to connect with such people!

#museums #galleries #GLAM #GLAMEd #heritage #MathsInMuseums #museum

The first review of my book (that I've seen) is out: aperiodical.com/2025/08/review-the-mathe...

#MathsToday #Maths #History #MathsInMuseums 🏛️🎓

Review: The Mathematician’s Library, by Thomas K. Briggs Books. Every self-respecting mathematician’s floor has a pile of them, some half-read, others to re-read, some merely providing structural support. In The Mathematician’s Library, Thoma…

The first review of my book (that I've seen) is out: aperiodical.com/2025/08/revi...

#MathsToday #Maths #History #MathsInMuseums 🏛️🎓

Another #MathsInMuseums post: this time it's just one object - Roaring Meg.

tommaths.blogspot.com/2025/08/maths-in-museums...

#MathsToday #MuseumEd #Museums #History #Maths

Maths in Museums: Roaring Meg Maths educator with many and varied interests. Guitarist, writer, reader, human being. Interested in freelance opportunities, or just a chat.

Another #MathsInMuseums post: this time it's just one object - Roaring Meg.

tommaths.blogspot.com/2025/08/math...

#MathsToday #MuseumEd #Museums #History #Maths

It didn't look new, but it was touchable and those things age quickly!

I reckon so too. When I'm doing #MathsInMuseums training I try to get across the idea that I'm a maths expert but not a [whatever your story is] expert, which is why it's best for me to teach you how to spot mathsy threads...

Maths in Museums: Bolsover Castle Thomas Briggs explores some of the opportunities for mathematical exploration at Bolsover Castle.

The other day I wondered if I'd find any #maths at Bolsover Castle. Well...

... You know I did: tommaths.blogspot.com/2025/08/math...

#MathsInMuseums #Maths #Museums #MathsToday 🏛️🎓
@englishheritage.bsky.social

Maths in Museums: Bolsover Castle For years I have been periodically prompted to think "ah yes, must go there one day" by signs for Bolsover Castle as I pass through the vicinity of Junction 29A on the M1. That day, as all things must surely do, finally came to pass on Monday 11th August, 2025[1]. --- Bolsover Castle © 2025 by Tom Briggs is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 As with all posts in the _Maths in Museums_ series, it is not for me to tell you how or when to visit, how much it costs, or even much about the history of the site (though some will surely creep in). All of that can be left to English Heritage, who are its current custodians. Our purpose here is to uncover some of the opportunities for mathematical exploration that I spotted during my visit[2]. As with most museums and galleries, there's no interpretation at the site that will help you to structure any exploration of these ideas. Bolsover Castle is the ruins of a 17th century castle built on the ruins and earthworks of a 12th century castle. My immediate mathematical thought, then, was of a simple comparison of the time between the original castle and the rebuild, and the time between the rebuild and now: telling me that something is from the 12th century or from the 17th century doesn't mean much to my brain, but comparing the length of those two periods gives me a mild case of what I'm going to call time-vertigo. --- | Scale Models of Bolsover Castle © 2025 by Tom Briggs is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 --- One of the first things I noticed as we passed through the massive South-East Gate into the Great Court was a tactile scale model of the castle and its grounds (bottom, in the collage above). I _love_ a scale model because they help me to shrink things down to a point where an overview fits into my brain. There was another - of 'The Little Castle' (top, in the collage) - elsewhere[4]. Not only are scale models generally brilliant, they're also excellent routes into some mathematical exploration: measure things on the model and work out their real-life size; measure a real-life thing (yourself, maybe) and figure out what it would look like in the model. Or, when the scale isn't given[5], measure a real-life thing _and_ its scaled counterpart and work it out from there! An image of the earliest-known architect's design for a kitchen range, destined for Bolsover castle, (including annotations with units of measurement) provides a nice alternative angle on this general theme. And another: it's difficult to tell the scale of the building in the image at the top of this post, but I commented that it felt like it was made for giants, which made me wonder how big those giants would be if their height and and the height of the entrance way were in the same proportions as my height and my front door at home. Browsing the guidebook tells me that Bolsover has been subject to at least two major sieges in its past. A good siege always reminds me of Storming the Castle, a maths+history learning activity offered 140 miles away at Norwich Castle, could easily be plundered for ideas that would work at any castle. But siege warfare in general provides a feast of mathematical themes just waiting to be explored at all educational levels, from simple resource management problem solving for primary school students, up to investigations of projectile motion for students at A-level and beyond. It's always good when there's a real person you can hang a mathematical story on, so I was absolutely stoked when I wandered into a room and came face-to-face(less) with none other than... --- Ada Lovelace Mannequin at Bolsover Castle © 2025 by Tom Briggs is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 ... only Ada blimmin' Lovelace! She's there as part of a collection of dressed mannequins that form an exhibition called _Fame, Fortune and Fashion: The Women of Bolsover_[6]. Disappointingly, the banner accompanying Countess Lovelace's mannequin doesn't explain what her connection with Bolsover is, and the best I could find was that her final resting place is a church about half an hour away by car. Nevertheless, Ada Lovelace is well known as an important figure in the history of computer science (which is often mentioned, including in her panel here) and mathematics (which is often omitted, including in her panel here)[7]. This habit of celebrating famous historical figures' achievements _except the maths_[8] means that sometimes a little bit of digging can pull out a mathematical connection where one is least expected. A couple of quickfire bits of maths at Bolsover Castle to leave you with: one panel drew attention to circular themes in the garden, explaining that the symbol represented perfect love in Renaissance philosophy, providing an opportunity to explore the not inconsiderable links between geometry and all sorts of things like religious symbolism and superstition; and the shapes formed either on purpose or by accident in architectural designs where form and function combine, such as the roof timbers shown in the image below: --- Form Meets Function in Roof Supports at Bolsover Castle © 2025 by Tom Briggs is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 As always, if you'd like more museums and galleries (including Bolsover Castle!) to bring their mathematical stories to the surface, then consider letting them know when you provide feedback after a visit: organisations in the cultural sector really care about visitor feedback, and the only reason that most of them don't do anything to help you play with maths while you're there is that they don't know you want them to. ## Did you enjoy this post? If you'd like to see more posts like this, summarising the maths I've found during a visit to a museum (or gallery, etc), then consider doing one or more of the following: * (and don't forget to let me know what I did that was worthing tipping me for) * If you'd like me to write a similar post about a specific museum or gallery then commission one. * If you work for a museum or gallery and you'd like some help telling a mathematical story, get in touch. ## Footnotes 1. I realise that this sounds a bit like I'm saying literally _all_ things come to pass on Monday 11th August 2025, which clearly isn't the case. [back] 2. I'd be very interested to hear about the maths links that _you_ spot during your own visit[3], or that you think of while you're reading this. If you're screaming in your head "_BUT WHY HAVEN'T YOU MENTIONED [mathsy thing]!_ " the answer is that it's because I haven't thought of it, so you'd be doing everyone a favour by bringing it up in the comments (or maybe even writing a guest post). [back] 3. To Bolsover, yes, but also anywhere else. [back] 4. In The Little Castle, if you're interested. [back] 5. Naughty! But sometimes useful, in this context. [back] 6. The only 'official' project page that I could find was this one which lists other women represented in the exhibition but, oddly, doesn't include Ada. [back] 7. She gets more than a mention on both counts in my book, _The Mathematicians' Library_. [back] 8. Another example, in case you're not convinced that this is a thing that happens: ask the next ten people you meet if they have any idea of who Florence Nightingale is and what she did that was so important, and tell me (a) what fraction of them know something about her and (b) what fraction of them mention anything to do with statistics. [back]

The other day I wondered if I'd find any #maths at Bolsover Castle. Well...

... You know I did: tommaths.blogspot.com/2025/08/maths-in-museums...

#MathsInMuseums #Maths #Museums #MathsToday #MuseumEd

@englishheritage

Me, a bespectacled, furry-faced man of 42, holding a book titled "The Mathematicians Library, The Books That Unlocked The Power of Numbers". My finger is pointing at the author's name, which is "Thomas K. Briggs". My face holds a look of shock and surprise.

This just arrived.

Today I contributed to a day of training for folks from museums across Scotland who are gearing up to take part in #MathsWeekScotland.

I was supposed to be giving the attendees ideas, but *they* were such an incredible source of inspiration, in terms of specific ideas but also with regards to […]

I'll be at the @museumsandheritage.com show next week: Wednesday & Thursday!

I'll be one of the hosts of an informal meet for freelance members of @gem.org.uk - details in the WhatsApp group, or PM me if you're a GEM member but not a WhatsApp user!

Also happy to talk #MathsInMuseums with anyone!

Do you represent a #museum, #gallery, or other cultural organisation in #Scotland?

2025's FREE online #Maths in #Museums training from National Museums Scotland in partnership with Maths Week Scotland is on Weds 28 May, 10am-3pm.

Find out more & sign up here: https://my.nms.ac.uk/0/17854

This […]

#GLAM-Ed #MathsToday #MathsInMuseums