Mathigon
The mathematical playground: free interactive courses and manipulatives
About Mathigon
Mathigon is a free, award-winning interactive mathematics learning platform that reimagines the textbook with step-by-step, conversational courses, virtual manipulatives, and visual exploration. Now part of Amplify, it offers educators and students dozens of self-paced courses, classroom activities, and the Polypad manipulatives canvas to make math more engaging and hands-on.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Completely free with no paywalls or premium upsells
- Highly interactive, visual approach makes abstract math concepts intuitive
- Polypad manipulatives are excellent for hands-on classroom exploration
- Self-paced courses adapt to the learner and encourage discovery
- Available in more than 20 languages
- Backed by Amplify, a major K-12 curriculum publisher
Cons
- Focused only on mathematics, not a broader subject platform
- Several courses are still marked 'under construction' or incomplete
- Polypad has moved to Amplify, splitting the experience across two sites
- Limited teacher analytics and class-management features compared to full LMS platforms
- Best suited to K-12 math; less depth for advanced university-level topics
Key Features
Interactive Courses
Step-by-step, narrative-driven math courses that adapt to the learner and reveal content as students respond, covering geometry, algebra, probability, and more.
Polypad Manipulatives
A digital canvas of virtual manipulatives (number tiles, fraction bars, geometry tools, dice, and more) for problem-solving, pattern exploration, and collaboration. Now hosted by Amplify.
Classroom Activities
Ready-to-use interactive activities and lesson plans teachers can assign or project for whole-class exploration.
Course Library
A growing library of self-paced 'textbook of the future' courses spanning middle school, high school, and recreational mathematics topics.
Visual & Animated Explanations
Rich animations, diagrams, and visualizations that make abstract mathematical concepts intuitive and concrete.
Multi-Language Support
Free content available in more than 20 languages, broadening access for students and teachers worldwide.
Collaboration Tools
Shared Polypad canvases let students and teachers work together in real time on mathematical investigations.
Pricing
- Full access to all interactive courses
- Polypad manipulatives canvas
- Classroom activities and lessons
- Content in 20+ languages
- No account required to explore
- Free for students, teachers, and parents
Best For
Classroom Math Instruction
Teachers use Polypad and interactive courses to demonstrate concepts visually and run hands-on, exploratory lessons.
Self-Paced Student Learning
Students work through narrative, interactive courses at their own pace to build intuition for geometry, algebra, and probability.
Homeschool & Parent Support
Parents use the free courses and manipulatives to supplement or lead math learning at home.
Math Enrichment & Exploration
Curious learners explore recreational math, patterns, and visual proofs through Mathigon's activities and playground tools.
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