How much maths is there in the natural world?

This cross-curricular teaching session invites students to explore the museum building and its collections with the language of maths.

Through a series of engaging problem-solving activities, students will use mathematical ideas and skills as tools for questioning, investigating and understanding the natural world.

This session explores:

• Pattern, symmetry and form – how patterns, shapes and symmetry can help us identify, classify and understand living things.
• Scale – how size affects the way organisms live, and how we use measurement and mathematical thinking to investigate things that are too small to see easily.
• Variation and probability – how probability can help us understand survival, reproduction and natural selection.
• Deep time – how mathematical ideas can help us make sense of the vast timescales involved in the history of life on Earth and enable us to put the age of our planet into perspective.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, students will be able to:

• Apply mathematical thinking to science, seeing how maths can be used to investigate biology and the natural world.
• Use observation and evidence from real museum objects to identify patterns and explore mathematical ideas.
• Develop practical skills by handling and investigating museum specimens carefully and appropriately.
• Build curiosity and confidence in using maths to make sense of the world around them.
• Gain insight into museums and collections, including why specimens are collected, cared for and displayed.