Seattle Universal Math Museum

Mission Seattle Universal Math Museum (SUMM) sparks each and every person to love math. Vision SUMM takes you on a math journey. We create opportunities for exploration, discovery, and growth. Our Values SUMM strives to incorporate these values in everything we do: ● Bring math to life ● Inspire creativity ● Engage all learners ● Embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion ● Collaborate with community ● Spark fun and joy Purpose At SUMM we believe in the wonder and beauty of math. Math achievement impacts the trajectory of young lives. We seek to inspire each and every learner and collaborate with existing community partners to help drive equity-based, culturally relevant math education opportunities.

WHY A MATH MUSEUM? SUMM is creating the future. By making math accessible for all, SUMM will create new opportunities for learners in their formative years, when the introduction of the universal applications of math can make a lifetime impact on their personal and professional lives, leading to exponential impact on their communities and the world. Imagine experiencing math in a 3D and hands-on way that feels like play. Active and visual learning increase engagement, make strong connections, and create positive emotional experiences. A museum dedicated to math shttps://seattlemathmuseum.org/storyhows how math is connected to everything — it’s universal — the foundation of STEM. And math is part of nature, art, music, and almost every aspect of the world around us. Too many learners are discouraged from math for multiple reasons. They think speed is important, or they make many calculation errors. Testing shows that they may not score high, but they know they have worked hard to understand the concepts. Lack of confidence and achievement in algebra is too often a gatekeeper to graduation, college admission and career options. But research shows that anyone can learn math to high levels. SUMM will also illuminate the diversity of mathematical contributions from around the globe, showing how math is used in varying, as well as similar, ways throughout the world. When visitors learn that the same mathematical ideas were discovered by various civilizations on multiple continents over centuries, they will feel a connection to the creativity in math from a multicultural and historical perspective. SUMM will be an exciting new destination where visitors young and old can develop their understanding of math’s key principles and practical application in a fun and participatory way.