The key to mathematics is in the experience.

Experiential environments offer something different from the classroom.

The classroom, as we know it, arose during the introduction of the Swedish elementary school in the 1800s. When it became mandatory for every parish to have a school for the children to attend, the need for premises skyrocketed, and inspired by the ongoing industrialization, the rooms were furnished with benches in rows, easy to monitor and discipline. And this has been the case – with some modernizations – until now. But what if the classroom is not the environment where you learn best?

Today, it is clear to researchers, teachers and not least the children themselves that the traditional classroom is not always the best learning environment. The social aspect, with many people around, may be one reason. If you have difficulty concentrating, a room with 25-30 classmates may find it difficult to deliver the peace and quiet you need.

In studies conducted at Universeum, Professor Lena Pareto and her students have researched how an alternative, experience-based environment can work for children who do not come into their own in a traditional classroom environment. On the building's 4th floor we find Mathrix, Universeum's mathematics exhibition, which consists of four interactive and engaging activity areas. The areas have different themes and the activities vary – from simple challenges with blocks to augmented reality applications that combine digital objects with physical reality through, for example, cameras and sensors.

"Mathematics teaching often consists of the teacher explaining in front of the board, and students working individually in their arithmetic book with tasks that are described in the mathematical language, that is, on an abstract level. If you don't have the understanding to turn the abstract into something understandable, it's difficult to do anything at all. In Mathrix, you can try things out and see what happens," says Lena Pareto.

Mathrix makes it easier to understand mathematics.

Mathrix is primarily aimed at teenagers (13–18 years), but the pilot study also included younger students in elementary school, based on which classes the study's participating teachers taught. Each teacher selected two to four students from their class who they felt could benefit from testing a different learning environment in mathematics and planned the visits to Mathrix based on the students who would accompany them. The teachers then taught their group of students on two occasions, using the learning stations that they felt were most suitable for the group.

The combination of physical attributes such as buttons, blocks and levers and digital interaction and feedback that Mathrix offers turned out to be an aid to more easily understand the function, method and rules of mathematics. Concepts that previously appeared abstract now became easier to understand, when it was possible to see, feel and experience them.

By seeing how a scale ends up in equilibrium when the equation you put with blocks weighs evenly on both sides, you can experiment your way to a solution. Or by seeing how the shadow of a silhouette changes size the closer you move it to the wall, you can understand how scale and distance are connected. The playfulness of the exercises, with many possible answers, also relieved the pressure to complete the task and "answer correctly" – and instead created an interest in learning more.

On the Mathematics Biennial's programme.

At the Mathematics Biennial, which was partly arranged at Universeum in January 2026, one of the teachers from the pilot study participated in a seminar where they talked about their experiences during the visits to Mathrix and the time afterwards. Several of them highlighted the social aspect of the study, where previously quiet and introverted students now dared to speak up: partly through discussion with each other, but also because the environment in Mathrix created a sense of security to dare to try without fear of failure.

A self-confidence that came home to school, according to many teachers who accompanied their students to Universeum. Perhaps the student now dared to participate in a discussion with others – or even show a classmate how to think.

Mathrix complements the classroom.

It should be remembered that Mathrix could never replace the school's regular teaching. But perhaps it could be a complementary learning environment? And the effects of the visit to Mathrix – the newfound self-confidence and a new way of looking at mathematics – can live on back in the classroom. What is in the pipeline now is to apply for funding so that the pilot study can become a larger, more far-reaching study.

"If the results are the same there, and confirm what we have seen now, it is a very clear signal to all schools in the vicinity that a relatively small effort can make such a big impression on some students. If you can turn someone around early and get a drive to move on yourself, it is worth a lot," concludes Lena Pareto.