Numbered stools that turn comparison and movement into hands-on math exploration

Math Steps

Math Steps in Chicago features a series of numbered cylindrical stools paired with bilingual prompts that invite children and caregivers to explore mathematical thinking through movement and comparison. Each stool represents a different height and number value, encouraging children to stand, sit, compare, and reason about which step is taller, shorter, or equal.

Guided questions such as “Which step makes you as tall as I am?” prompt families to think about measurement, sequencing, and relational concepts in an embodied way. By physically experiencing differences in height and number, children engage with early math ideas like magnitude, comparison, and equivalence through active play and conversation. The installation turns a simple seating area into a hands-on opportunity for shared mathematical exploration.

The Learning Goals

The Math Steps installation builds content knowledge by helping children develop an understanding of number order, magnitude, measurement, and comparison through hands-on interaction with the numbered stools. As children stand, sit, and sequence themselves by height and number, they experience mathematical concepts in a concrete and embodied way.

It also strengthens critical thinking by encouraging children to reason about relationships such as taller, shorter, equal, and next in sequence. Through guided prompts and physical comparison, families engage in problem-solving conversations that deepen mathematical understanding.

The Team

The Math Steps installation was created through a collaboration between Chicago Children’s Museum, Playful Learning Landscapes, SPARK, and Marie Wilkinson Community Garden.