«How to draw strange shapes so that they appear straight using a special mirror»: anamorphoses and workshop at the museum

Abstract

This article presents a workshop carried out in a museum context on catoptric anamorphoses with a cylindrical mirror, designed on the basis of models from the Collezione Macchine Matematiche within the Sistema dei Musei e Orto Botanico of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and aimed at lower secondary school students (grades 6-8). After outlining the historical context underlying the development of anamorphoses and describing the used models of the collection, the article introduces the theoretical framework that guided the design of the workshop and details the proposed activities. The answers given in the workshop worksheets and the data collected through an evaluation questionnaire on the experience show how students were surprised by the proposed activities, which allowed them to learn in a hands-on way how to create an anamorphic image. This workshop can be regarded as a case of informal mathematics education, in which students learn mathematics in a museum context through collaboration with peers and unexpected explorations.