#1412: Papyrophilia vs. Mathophobia: Exploring paper invitation to constructionist mathematics learning

This installation explores how paper can serve as an aesthetic, artistic invitation into constructionist mathematics learning. We present a tiered, pyramid-like landscape of interactive paper and cardboard artifacts—pop-ups, tessellations, curved folds, and geometric solids—each designed as an object-to-think-with that foregrounds beauty, tactility, and mathematical structure. Building on Seymour Papert’s vision of “soap-sculpture math” and his analysis of mathophobia, we ask what it means to treat mathematical work as gallery-worthy, proudly displayable and shareable art, rather than an anxiety-inducing exercise. Our design also responds to critiques of maker spaces that foreground high-tech tools and narrow participation: by beginning with familiar, low-cost materials and manual manipulation, we lower perceived technical barriers while still connecting to digital design and fabrication workflows and deeper mathematical thinking.