Tommaths (he/him)<p>I'm going to see the Art of the Brick <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/exhibition" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>exhibition</span></a> today!</p><p>I'm a bit of a <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/Lego" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Lego</span></a> fan, but it always reminds me of one of the years we (at Bletchley Park) won "Best Venue for <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/Mathematics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Mathematics</span></a> <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/Learning" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Learning</span></a>" at the School Travel Awards. To my knowledge we won it every year it existed, and it disappeared as a category after three goes. Each time we won I looked up the runners-up to see what the competition were doing (in the spirit of "steal, steal, steal; but steal from the best"), but each time I never really discovered anything that I'd consider genuinely mathematical (so no wonder the category disappeared).</p><p>One year, Legoland Windsor were a runner-up and, as far as I could tell their 'mathematics' offer was using bricks as a disappointingly abstract prompt to practise memorisation of times tables.</p><p>We can do better than this in the <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/heritage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>heritage</span></a> sector - some already do - but we need to make engaging with mathematics a _normal_, everyday thing that <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/museums" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>museums</span></a>, <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/galleries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>galleries</span></a>, <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/archives" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>archives</span></a> and <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>libraries</span></a> do, and not just through their formal learning programmes.</p><p>The maths provision in the formal learning programme at Bletchley Park was excellent, but there's no way we should have been such a standout winner in that category every time it ran.</p><p>I'm always excited to hear about maths being explored by museums, whether it's part of school trips or (and this is the dream) in its exhibitions.</p><p>Some relevant links: <br> - Art of the Brick: <a href="https://theartofthebrickexpo.com/london/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">theartofthebrickexpo.com/londo</span><span class="invisible">n/</span></a><br> - School Travel Awards: <a href="https://www.schooltravelorganiser.com/school-travel-awards" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">schooltravelorganiser.com/scho</span><span class="invisible">ol-travel-awards</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/MuseumEd" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MuseumEd</span></a> <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/GLAMEd" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GLAMEd</span></a> <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/MathsEd" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MathsEd</span></a></p>