A field trip in a mathematics course? Who ever heard of such a thing! What would my colleagues say? Where would we go? What would we do?
Yes, it is quite reasonable to have a field trip in a history of mathematics course. If you can find something interesting to do, by all means do it. The students will love it and will learn a lot besides.
One thing that you really must do in any history of mathematics course is to take a trip to your college or university library. Almost certainly, if your students have been in the library at all for any of their mathematics course, it is only as a place to study. Using the library is simply not part of the learning of mathematics. That is sad. But a history of mathematics course will change that.
A visit to a rare book room is one of the most thrilling things that you can do in a history of mathematics class. Students will be excited to see a book that is several hundred years old. If they can get the opportunity to hold it in their own hands and turn the pages, it will be something that they will long remember. Several years ago I was teaching a course entitled "Euclid in Greek and Latin" for two classics majors who saw no need for taking the required algebra course. We read part of the first Latin translation of Euclid and then made a field trip to the rare book room at the University of Michigan. They were thrilled to read some of the Radtold Euclid, the first printed edition of Euclid (the text is in Latin) as well as several other Euclids. More recently I met a class of Dan Chazan from Michigan State and showed them some of the rare books at Michigan. The Institute for History of Mathematics and Its use in Teaching has visited the rare book rooms at American University, and the Dibner Library at the Smithsonian.
When planning a history of mathematics course, you really should visit your local rare book room. The librarian may well say they don't have any rare mathematics books, but take a look at the shelf list for yourself. My experience is that every library has an item or two that are worth looking at. Perhaps you will find some real treasures. If you have a nearby library with a good rare book room you should make contact with the librarians there and bring your class over. It is a very valuable experience.
Depending on where you live there could be a museum that you could visit. There are excellent science museums in Boston, Chicago, Montreal, New York, and San Francisco. You might be able to see an Egyptian papyrus, a Babylonian tablet, surveying instruments, planimiters, slide rules, early computers, etc. It is wonderful to see a model of the brachistochrone. And don't forget the art museums. There is much to be learned from early paintings done before artists understood perspective.
It would be impossible to create a list of all the things that you might do. Let me encourage you to keep your eyes open. You may be surprised what you see.
Even if you can't take your students on a tour, I encourage you to visit museums and libraries when you travel. The teacher who has seen the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum will make a more interesting presentation in class (do you know how think it is!). The Deutsches Museum in Munich has one of the finest collections in the world. Visit it if you can.
Today we are fortunate to be able to visit some of these museums electronically. While a virtual experience will never replace the real thing, it is a valuable experience nonetheless. Encourage your students to browse the web and to let us know what they find of interest in the history of mathematics. You should also start a web page for your course. At least it should be used to direct students to things they will find of interest.
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If you have comments, send email to V. Frederick Rickey at
fred-rickey@usma.edu .
First posted 30 December 1996. Most recent revision: 11 January 2003.