IMAGINARY is an open platform dedicated to the communication of modern mathematics. With over 100 different exhibits, software, films, texts, and images for free use and editing, IMAGINARY connects users from over 50 countries. Science museums such as the German Museum in Munich or the Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in New York have some of the exhibits in their collections. IMAGINARY also acted as an independent organizer of exhibitions.
History IMAGINARY was founded at the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach (MFO) in 2007 by Gert-Martin Greuel and Andreas Matt with an exhibition of the same name, supported by Klaus Tschira Foundation.
In 2013 Gert-Martin Greuel and Andreas Matt received the Media Prize Mathematics of the German Mathematicians Association for IMAGINARY.
From 2019 to 2019, IMAGINARY was funded by the Leibniz Association as an impetus to found a non-profit organisation. Since September 2017, IMAGINARY has been independent with an office in Berlin and regional representatives in numerous countries such as Spain, Uruguay, France, Turkey, South Korea, and China.
Exhibitions
IMAGINARY - Through the eyes of mathematics 2007 The IMAGINARY exhibition aimed to convey abstract mathematics through images and visualizations. In the Surfer exhibit, a real-time ray tracer for generating algebraic surfaces, users can enter and edit polynomial equations with three variables, as well as rotate and color the resulting surfaces. Together with the science magazine Spectrum, a competition was created at the MFO to promote the creation of artistic images made in Surfer.
MPE - Mathematics of Planet Earth As part of the theme year “Mathematics of Planet Earth”, announced by UNESCO, the International Science Council ICSU and the International Council for Applied Mathematics ICIAM, IMAGINARY organized a competition on the topic. The best submissions were part of an exhibition in the German Museum of Technology in Berlin. These included an interactive simulation from the University of Freiburg that calculates the movements of ash clouds, and an exhibit from the Free University of Berlin that introduces the scientific prognosis of glacier changes.
La La Lab - The Mathematics of Music The La La Lab exhibition was opened in 2019 in cooperation with the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation in the Mathematik-Informatik-Station (MAINS) and communicates the research results from mathematics and music. The 20 interactive stations include, among others, an exhibit using a 3D printer, art objects, laser installation.
I AM A.I. 2020/2021 The I.AM.AI exhibition was created in 2020 with the financial support of the Carl Zeiss Foundation with the aim of communicating current AI research to a general audience. Due to the corona pandemic, I.AM.AI initially celebrated its launch as a virtual exhibition. The physical exhibition has been postponed to the year 2021 and will visit three venues with the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the Heidelberg Laureate Forum, and a not yet announced location in Kaiserslautern.
Exhibition venues of the original IMAGINARY exhibition A complete list of the exhibitions, past, current and future, can be found on the official website. Date City Venue 21.09.2010 - 07.10.2010 Zurich, Switzerland ETH Zurich 08.03.2010 - 17.03.2010 Cambridge, UK Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences 19.01.2010 - 26.02.2010 Hannover, Germany Leibniz University Hannover 05.11.2009 - 15.11.2009 Kyiv, Ukraine Museum für Russische Kunst 14.12.2008 - 31.12.2009 Second Life, Internet Second Life Kunstgalerie 09.10.2009 Vienna, Austria Museumsquartier 30.09.2009 - 20.10.2009 Münster, Deutschland Stadthaus III 26.09.2009 Bonn, Germany Hausdorff Center for Mathematics 24.03.2009 - 09.05.2009 Dresden, Germany Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf 27.04.2009 - 01.05.2009 Stanford, United States Stanford University 23.03.2009 - 19.04.2009 Berkeley, United States MSRI 02.03.2009 - 20.03.2009 Vienna, Austria University of Vienna 05.12 - 19.12.2008 Passau, Germany University of Passau 24.10 - 16.11.2008 Saarbrücken, Germany k4 galerie 01.10. - 19.10.2008 Konstanz, Germany Stadtturm 25.09. - 21.10.2008 Munich, Germany LMU Munich 08.09. - 26.09.2008 Köln, Germany Mensa, University of Cologne 07.05. - 04.09.2008 Diverse Städte, Germany Wissenschaftsschiff 05.08 - 29.08.2008 Kassel, Germany Stadtsparkasse 08.07. - 30.07.2008 Rust, Germany Science House 28.06. - 04.07.2008 Leipzig, Germany Wissenschaftssommer 29.05. - 25.06.2008 Potsdam, Germany Bahnhof 17.05. - 25.05.2008 Stuttgart, Germany Ideenpark, Messe 10.03. - 11.04.2008 Kaiserslautern, Germany Fraunhofer ITWM 19.02. - 06.03.2008 Berlin, Germany Urania 28.01. - 05.02.2008 Berlin, Germany Lichthof, Technische Universität Berlin 23.01.2008 Berlin, Germany Telekomzentrale 10.12.2007 - 18.01.2008 Munich, Germany Technical University of Munich
Other projects and cooperations
since 2010 MiMa - Museum for Minerals and Mathematics since 2014 Mathematics Communication Network 2015 Snapshots of Mathematics 2015 - 2019 Hilbert 2016 Mathematikon 2016 - 2017 MathCreations 2016 - 2019 Holo-Math 2017 - 2019 TROP ICSU 2018 Science Spaces 2018 STEAM HUB 2018 Imaginary, Conference IC18 2018 - 2021 Mathina since 2018 Women of Mathematics throughout Europe since 2020 UNESCO International Day of Mathematics
References
External links Official website Mathematischen Forschungsinstituts Oberwolfach