Signed in as
Collection of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia with over 200 working reconstructions of ancient mathematical instruments, visitable on announced dates.
November 5, 2026 – November 7, 2026
Exhibition of the laboratory on the occasion of the congress of the Italian Society for the History of Mathematics, open on two days only: Thursday 5 in the morning and Saturday 7 November in the afternoon.
The Laboratorio delle macchine matematiche is a research centre on the teaching of mathematics in the Department of Education and Human Sciences of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Its research concerns the processes of teaching and learning with material and digital tools.
Over time the laboratory has built up a large collection of hand-made, working reconstructions of ancient instruments, which now forms part of the MuseOmoRE system of university museums. The collection comprises over 200 models: instruments for classical problems such as the trisection of the angle and the duplication of the cube; curvigraphs that trace straight lines, conic sections and other curves; pantographs; three-dimensional models illustrating conic sections and transformations of the plane; and perspectographs for constructing images in perspective.
The machines are presented in exhibitions, including “Macchine, meccanica e matematica”, set up at the collection’s premises in Via Camatta in Modena, and are used in workshops for school classes and in teacher training projects.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
| School programs | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Workshops with the mathematical machines are offered for school classes. The administrative office of the department is at Viale Timavo 93 in Reggio Emilia. |
