Arithmeum, Mathematics museum in Bonn, Germany.
The Arithmeum is a mathematics museum in Bonn housed in a modern glass and steel building that displays approximately 1,200 mechanical calculating machines. These devices span different periods and show how calculation techniques evolved from manual methods to mechanical automation.
Professor Bernhard Korte founded the museum in 2008 using his personal collection of calculating machines that he had gathered starting in the 1970s. His passion for these devices from the early computing era became the foundation for this institution.
The collection shows how mathematics and design connect through everyday objects. Visitors can see old calculating machines, historical books, and early computer parts that reveal how people built mathematical thinking into their tools.
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and fully accessible for wheelchair users. Plan time to walk through the different exhibition areas, as the collection is extensive and detailed with much to see.
The museum houses the Schuitema collection of approximately 4,000 slide rules spanning 400 years of mathematical development. Before the digital age, slide rules were the essential tool for engineers and scientists and now represent an almost forgotten calculating technique.
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