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What if math started disappearing from the world — and your kid had to venture into a haunted house to save it?
That’s the premise of FRACTURE! Matheatre Haunted House, an interactive theater experience coming to Pacific Science Center this October. Part haunted house, part puzzle-solving adventure, FRACTURE! sends audience members into a world where math is being erased.
Their mission: Defeat the Arithmerift and save math.
The production comes from Matheatre, a theater company founded in 2006 that uses performance to get audiences interested in math and science.
“Matheatre is first and foremost a theatre company,” says Artistic Director Ricky Coates. “We make intelligent and entertaining art with the goal to inspire audiences in math and science.”
Coates says the company starts from the premise that people learn and become interested in subjects in different ways.
“We believe that math and science are accessible to everyone, but not everyone accesses them the same,” he says. “Some people get drawn in through textbooks, some through a song, some through a story, and in this case, some through a haunted house.”
FRACTURE! Matheatre Haunted House (Photo courtesy Matheatre)
Yes, kids will encounter real math
FRACTURE! isn’t simply a haunted attraction with a few arithmetic problems thrown in. Participants solve logic puzzles while encountering mathematical ideas.
“Our goal is to hook an audience into the story first, but we don’t shy away from the actual educational concepts,” Coates says. “To us, neglecting the math is like making a show about Picasso without the art. We work in the intersection of good art and accurate science.”
But don’t expect a math class.
“In FRACTURE, kids will have to solve logic puzzles as they progress through a world where math is being erased,” Coates says. “They will encounter formulas like the Pythagorean theorem and concepts like irrational numbers, but the goal isn’t to teach them. It’s to ‘defeat’ the Arithmerift and save math.”
Matheatre has been mixing the arts and math since long before FRACTURE! The company’s first production was Calculus: The Musical!
“Matheatre was STEAM long before the acronym!” Coates says. “Our philosophy has always been to use arts as an access point to math and science. There are math teachers who tell us they got inspired from seeing Calculus as a high school student!”
(Photo courtesy Matheatre)
So, how scary is it?
Coates has loved haunted houses since he was a teenager.
“It gives a safe place to be immersed in excitement and fear,” he says. “I love that we’ve taken a concept that most people find dry or unexciting and built an entire world around it.”
While FRACTURE! is billed as a haunted house, Coates describes it more precisely as immersive theater.
“The audience is the protagonist as they delve into a creepy and unique story all about math and irrational numbers,” he says. “In past iterations, kids have loved the interactive nature of the experience, the puzzles, and the excitement of a haunted environment.”
Families have two options.
Before Dark is suitable for all ages. Rather than setting an age minimum, Matheatre recommends that participants have at least a third-grade math level to get the most out of the experience.
After Dark turns up the scare factor with flashing lights, jump scares, dark rooms and loud noises. It’s aimed at older kids and others who are comfortable with a scarier experience.
For either version, parents should make sure their kids are prepared to enter a haunted house.
“While it isn’t full of jump scares or things like chainsaws, we do like a good scare,” Coates says.
There’s also a firm rule about physical contact: Actors won’t touch audience members, and audience members shouldn’t touch the actors.
“We would love to reinforce the concept of respecting the people and props involved in the show,” Coates says.
(Photo courtesy Matheatre)
Spooky fun and useful take-ways
There’s a lot more math tucked into FRACTURE! than kids are likely to catch on a single trip through.
The lobby features mathematicians from different periods of history who are “in danger.” Characters introduce different kinds of numbers, including imaginary numbers, transfinite ordinals and irrational numbers. The final proof uses the Pythagorean theorem to prove the irrationality of the square root of 2.
Coates hopes something along the way will make kids curious enough to learn more.
“Our hope is that any one of the many jokes, references, puzzles, or scenes will trigger further study and exploration,” he says.
His first piece of advice to parents considering FRACTURE! is considerably simpler:
“First, be ready to have fun!”
If you go
FRACTURE! Matheatre Haunted House
- Where: Pacific Science Center, 200 Sue Bird Court N., Seattle
- Before Dark: Oct. 16, 17, 18, 23 and 24, 1-4 p.m.
- After Dark: Oct. 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 and 25, 7-10 p.m.
- Tickets: Sliding scale, $10-$40; FRACTURE! tickets and information
- Entry: Attendees enter at 15-minute intervals.
