Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.   SUBSCRIBE
The Kid Should See This

2ⁿ, a story of the power of numbers from the 1961 Mathematica exhibit

Watch more with these video collections:

In 1961, an interactive exhibition called Mathematica: A World of Numbers… and Beyond inaugurated the new science wing at Los Angeles’ California Museum of Science and Industry. Sponsored by IBM, it was an innovative exhibit designed by husband and wife team Charles and Ray Eames, and lucky for us, it included five short animations that explored a handful of math concepts.

This favorite is an old tale set in a palace in India. What happens when you double the grains of wheat on each square of a chessboard? Watch 2ⁿ – “a story about the exponential growth of numbers raised to powers.”

wheat grains on a chessboard
wheat grain pile
calculating wheat grains
Relate reading: Mathematica at EamesOffice.com.

And in TKSST’s collections, don’t miss this iconic Eames film: Powers of Ten.

via Tinybop.

This Webby award-winning video collection exists to help teachers, librarians, and families spark kid wonder and curiosity. TKSST features smarter, more meaningful content than what's usually served up by YouTube's algorithms, and amplifies the creators who make that content.

Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.

🌈 Watch these videos next...

Will YouTube Ever Run Out Of Video IDs?

Rion Nakaya

Why the metric system matters

Rion Nakaya

Why is getting things wrong good for science?

Rion Nakaya

Why is biodiversity so important?

Rion Nakaya

Why are algorithms called algorithms?

Rion Nakaya

What is Symmetry in Physics?

Rion Nakaya

What does the word ‘theory’ mean in science?

Rion Nakaya

Vi Hart’s Hexaflexagon

Rion Nakaya

Universal Calendar Puzzle: Figure out the day of the week for any date ever

Rion Nakaya