ASU News

The Mathematical Park in Maykop is a popular tourist attraction that brings together 11 mathematical art objects, which visualize famous mathematical problems and theorems, such as Leonhard Euler's problem about the seven Königsberg bridges, the Pythagorean theorem, the Möbius strip, the Shukhov hyperboloid, the Silašš polyhedron, and others. Now, visitors to our unique park will be able not only to learn interesting facts from the world of mathematics but also to hear how mathematical figures, problems, and theorems might sound.

To mark the anniversary of one of the founders of the park. Nikolai Andreev, the Head of the Laboratory for Popularization and Promoting  Mathematics at the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Senior Researcher at the Caucasian Mathematical Center of Astrakhan State University, a special project, "Harmony of the Mathematical Park," was presented in Maykop. 

A selection of musical pieces associated with the park's objects was created by the famous composer Murat Kabardokov, the author of music for more than two dozen films and performances, including participants and winners of prestigious film festivals. When in Maykop, he repeatedly visited the Mathematical Park, which helped him in choosing musical pieces.

Kabardokov believes that Maurice Ravel's Bolero and the Möbius strip are united by cyclicality and continuity, the complex, awkward polyhedron of the Hungarian mathematician Szilassi harmonizes with the dance suite of his compatriot Béla Bartók, and solving Leonard Euler's problem about the seven Königsberg bridges corresponds well to the cello suite of Johann Sebastian Bach. One of the recognizable exhibits of the park — a single-sheet hyperboloid — is associated with the Shukhov Tower on Shabolovka, built in the 1920s, industrialization, and the music of Alexander Mosolov's "The Factory. Music of Machines," which reflects the aesthetics and innovation of the technological progress of that time. Parabolic whisperers are associated with "Moonlight" by Claude Debussy, and the Pythagorean theorem with the soundtrack to the film "Electra," written by composer Mikis Theodorakis in the musical style of Ancient Greece. 

Nikolai Andreev's video tour of the Mathematical Park, which includes musical pieces, is posted  in the VK community of ASU By the beginning of the tourist season, QR codes with links will be placed on all art objects so that visitors to the park can listen to the compositions during the tour and compare them with their own ideas about these figures.

About the Park

"Mathematical Park" is a collection of exhibits illustrating mathematical concepts, integrated into the urban space. It is the only open-air mathematics museum in Russia, created in 2018 on the initiative of the Head of the Republic of Adygea, Murat Kumpilov. The Mathematical Park is a collaborative educational project involving the Republican School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the Caucasian Mathematical Center of Adyghe State University, and the Vladimir Steklov Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The idea to create the Mathematical Park in Maykop was conceived by Daud Mamiy, Rector of Adyghe State University, and Nikolay Andreev, Head of the Laboratory for the Popularization and Promotion of Mathematics at the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.