Harsco Science Center Exhibits
Gallery of Mathematics in Nature and Art

Mathematics can be found in some surprising and beautiful places. The Gallery of Mathematics in Nature and Culture explores mathematical concepts which reveal themselves in natural forms, in art, and in decorative patterns that are traditional in many cultures. Visitors discover the symmetry and pattern found in starfish, snowflakes, and Islamic tiles; learn how ratios and mathematical sequences describe the structure of sunflowers and of classical Greek temples; and find out how fractal geometry is revealed in the formation of coastlines and mountains and is used by computer artists to create realistic depictions of the natural world. They can create chaos with a bouncing ball, then discover how the chaos theory describes complex natural phenomena such as weather systems.