Maths Mansion was a British

educational television series Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

for school Years 4 to 6 (nine to eleven year olds) that ran from 19 September 2001 to 26 March 2003. Produced by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

by Open Mind, It follows the adventures of "Bad Man" taking kids to his mansion, Maths Mansion.Star Maths one
Channel 4 learning. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2019.Ellis, Chris. (2007)
The Maths Mansion Experience.
The Association of Teachers of Mathematics. Retrieved 7 February 2019 There, the kids learn and are tested on

maths Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, theories and theorems that are developed and proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include num ...

every week; if they pass the quiz, they get a "Maths Card". The kids are not allowed to leave the mansion until they get enough Maths Cards. They do not always pass the test, and this is shown in various episodes, one of them being ''Angleman!''. Frequently interrupting each programme is another programme, about "Sad Man", who seems to be quite happy. He demonstrates maths with

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

s, and

game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

s. Sad Man has a puppet called "Decimole", as for him being a

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

. Decimole is known for being very greedy around food and attacking people. There were forty episodes in four seasons. Each episode is about ten minutes long and comes with a teacher's guide and activity book and three activity sheets of differing levels for kids to use in class.Sayers, Judy. (2007)
Channel 4 'Maths Mansion'.
The Association of Teachers of Mathematics. Retrieved 15 February 2019

Characters

The main characters of Maths Mansion (other than the several kids in each episode) are Bad Man and Sad Man. Bad Man is the

game show host A game show host is an individual who manages a game show, introduces contestants, and asks quiz questions to test the knowledge of said contestants. They may also have other duties pertinent to production. History In 1938, Freddie Grisewood w ...

who traps the kids and does not let them leave until they acquire Maths Cards that are earned in his game show. One of Bad Man's catchphrases, "No Leaving Without Learning," sums up his attitude towards the kids and his role in the show. Sad Man, a dated, uncharismatic, leather elbow patch wearing

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

of Bad Man from the seventies, regularly interrupts Bad Man's programming with informational broadcasts that help the kids learn how to leave the mansion and teaches the lesson to the kids watching the show. Sad Man brings with him several minor characters such as Decimole and Snorter the Pig, a collection of puppets. Sad Man also occasionally has other alter egos himself such as Angleman, who is the namesake for one episode 5 of season 3. Other than Bad Man, Sad Man, and the kids, other characters include: * Decimole * Miss Sniff * Angleman * Mr. Girhalf * Third Bird * Twelfth Elf * Not So Great Big Hen * Snorter * Thick Stick

Episodes

Season 1

Season 1 is an introduction to the

number system A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

and general mathematics.

Season 2

Season 2 is focused on doing simple mathematical calculations.

Season 3

Season 3 is focused on numbers and the number system, including

natural number In mathematics, the natural numbers are the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on, possibly excluding 0. Some start counting with 0, defining the natural numbers as the non-negative integers , while others start with 1, defining them as the positive in ...

integer An integer is the number zero (0), a positive natural number (1, 2, 3, ...), or the negation of a positive natural number (−1, −2, −3, ...). The negations or additive inverses of the positive natural numbers are referred to as negative in ...

s, and

rational number In mathematics, a rational number is a number that can be expressed as the quotient or fraction of two integers, a numerator and a non-zero denominator . For example, is a rational number, as is every integer (for example, The set of all ...

Season 4

Season 4 is focused on

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

, specifically

shape A shape is a graphics, graphical representation of an object's form or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface. It is distinct from other object properties, such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material ...

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

, and problem solving using those ideas.Maths Mansion: Measures, Shape and Space and Solving Problems.
Channel 4 learning. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2019.

External links

Channel 4 Learning - Maths Mansion
an archive of the former official website.

References

{{reflist
Discovery Education SearchEpisode 35, ''Angleman!''
Mathematics education in the United Kingdom Mathematics education television series British children's education television series