Mathematics in Action from Lisbon: Engagement with the Popularization and Communication of Mathematics

Although not a new subject, the Popularization of Mathematics, viewed as an activity of “sharing mathematics with a wider public” and “encouraging people to be more active mathematically”, is a relatively recent topic that motivated the fifth international study (Howson and Kahane in The Popularization of Mathematics, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1990) of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction and had seen important developments after the World Mathematical Year—WMY2000. In this article we describe the engagement with the popularization and communication of mathematics that is being developed at the University of Lisbon, within the historical environment provided by its Museum of Science, which has a rich heritage. There are a significant number of initiatives open to society, from the educational community to the general public, and there has been a special collaboration with the Portuguese Mathematical Society since its foundation. Enhanced by the challenge of the WMY2000 and the project Matemática em Acção, developed by the Centro de Matemática e Aplicações Fundamentais, we describe several activities such as exhibitions, films, interactive applications and publications, that range from ruled surfaces, sundials and architecture to mathematical games, taking into account mathematics as an educational resource and exploring the multimedia and computational tools for communicating mathematics.