Stage 1 and 2 Children's Pages
Read this article to find out the mathematical method for working out what day of the week each particular date fell on back as far as 1700.
This article looks at the importance in mathematics of representing places and spaces mathematics. Many famous mathematicians have spent time working on problems that involve moving and mapping things.
When you think of spies and secret agents, you probably wouldn’t think of mathematics. Some of the most famous code breakers in history have been mathematicians.
Read all about the number pi and the mathematicians who have tried to find out its value as accurately as possible.
Read all about Pythagoras' mathematical discoveries in this article written for students.
This short article gives an outline of the origins of Morse code and its inventor and how the frequency of letters is reflected in the code they were given.
There is a long tradition of creating mazes throughout history and across the world. This article gives details of mazes you can visit and those that you can tackle on paper.
Find out about palindromic numbers by reading this article.
This article gives you a few ideas for understanding the Got It! game and how you might find a winning strategy.
Calendars were one of the earliest calculating devices developed by civilizations. Find out about the Mayan calendar in this article.
Read about David Hilbert who proved that any polygon could be cut up into a certain number of pieces that could be put back together to form any other polygon of equal area.
This article tells you all about some early ways of measuring as well as methods of measuring tall objects we can still use today. You can even have a go at some yourself!
As I was going to St Ives, I met a man with seven wives. Every wife had seven sacks, every sack had seven cats, every cat had seven kittens. Kittens, cats, sacks and wives, how many were going to St Ives?
This article gives a taste of the mathematics of Celtic knots.
First or two articles about Fibonacci, written for students.
A brief article written for pupils about mathematical symbols.
Second of two articles about Fibonacci, written for students.
Can you find any perfect numbers? Read this article to find out more...
Did you know that ancient traditional mazes often tell a story? Remembering the story helps you to draw the maze.
Not everybody agreed that the Third Millennium actually began on January 1st 2000. Find out why by reading this brief article.
Pythagoras of Samos was a Greek philosopher who lived from about 580 BC to about 500 BC. Find out about the important developments he made in mathematics, astronomy, and the theory of music.
Find out about Magic Squares in this article written for students. Why are they magic?!
Liethagoras, Pythagoras' cousin (!), was jealous of Pythagoras and came up with his own theorem. Read this article to find out why other mathematicians laughed at him.
What would you do if your teacher asked you add all the numbers from 1 to 100? Find out how Carl Gauss responded when he was asked to do just that.
Leonardo who?! Well, Leonardo is better known as Fibonacci and this article will tell you some of fascinating things about his famous sequence.
A paradox is a statement that seems to be both untrue and true at the same time. This article looks at a few examples and challenges you to investigate them for yourself.
Read about the history behind April Fool's Day.
In this article, the NRICH team describe the process of selecting solutions for publication on the site.
Mathematics has always been a powerful tool for studying, measuring and calculating the movements of the planets, and this article gives several examples.
Astronomy grew out of problems that the early civilisations had. They needed to solve problems relating to time and distance - both mathematical topics.
This article for pupils describes the famous Konigsberg Bridge problem.
This article, written for students, looks at how some measuring units and devices were developed.
Mathematics has allowed us now to measure lots of things about eclipses and so calculate exactly when they will happen, where they can be seen from, and what they will look like.
Ranging from kindergarten mathematics to the fringe of research this informal article paints the big picture of number in a non technical way suitable for primary teachers and older students.
Investigate circuits and record your findings in this simple introduction to truth tables and logic.
Lyndon Baker describes how the Mobius strip and Euler's law can introduce pupils to the idea of topology.
Can one example help us to perceive the generality?
Start with a large square, join the midpoints of its sides, you'll see four right angled triangles. Remove these triangles, a second square is left. Repeat the operation. What happens?
This article for the young and old talks about the origins of our number system and the important role zero has to play in it.
An article for students and teachers on symmetry and square dancing. What do the symmetries of the square have to do with a dos-e-dos or a swing? Find out more?
A description of how to make the five Platonic solids out of paper.
This article invites you to get familiar with a strategic game called "sprouts". The game is simple enough for younger children to understand, and has also provided experienced mathematicians with significant food for thought.
Jenny Murray describes how she developed her interest in making and breaking codes.
Jenny Murray describes the mathematical processes behind making patchwork in this article for students.
Who first used fractions? Were they always written in the same way? How did fractions reach us here? These are the sorts of questions which this article will answer for you.
This article explains how Greenwich Mean Time was established and in fact, why Greenwich in London was chosen as the standard.
Have you ever noticed how mathematical ideas are often used in patterns that we see all around us? This article describes the life of Escher who was a passionate believer that maths and art can be intertwined.
Read this article to find out about the discoveries and inventions of Archimedes.
Have you ever wondered how maps are made? Or perhaps who first thought of the idea of designing maps? We're here to answer these questions for you.
If you would like a new CD you would probably go into a shop and buy one using coins or notes. (You might need to do a bit of saving first!) However, this way of paying for the things you want did not always exist. Find out more ...
What does logic mean to us and is that different to mathematical logic? We will explore these questions in this article.
Nowadays the calculator is very familiar to many of us. What did people do to save time working out more difficult problems before the calculator existed?
A particular technique for solving Sudoku puzzles, known as "naked pair", is explained in this easy-to-read article.
Bernard's article reminds us of the richness of using dice for number, shape and probability.
Here we look back at the year with NRICH and suggest mathematical summer holiday activities for students, parents and teachers.
This article for pupils explores what makes numbers special or lucky, and looks at the numbers that are all around us every day.
What was it like to learn maths at school in the Victorian period? We visited the British Schools Museum in Hitchin to find out.
This article for pupils gives some examples of how circles have featured in people's lives for centuries.
This article for students gives some instructions about how to make some different braids.
This article for pupils gives an introduction to Celtic knotwork patterns and a feel for how you can draw them.
This article for students introduces the idea of naming knots using numbers. You'll need some paper and something to write with handy!
Noticing the regular movement of the Sun and the stars has led to a desire to measure time. This article for teachers and learners looks at the history of man's need to measure things.
In the time before the mathematical idea of randomness was discovered, people thought that everything that happened was part of the will of supernatural beings. So have things changed?
Uncertain about the likelihood of unexpected events? You are not alone!
Simon Singh describes PKC, its origins, and why the science of code making and breaking is such a secret occupation.
Dr James Grime takes an Enigma machine in to schools. Here he describes how the code-breaking work of Turing and his contemporaries helped to win the war.
This article explores the use of the array to support children's thinking around multiplication and division.
This article looks at how models support mathematical thinking about numbers and the number system