So what is the Zometool? Atomic Tinkertoy? Lego of the Future? Molecular modeling kit on steroids?
All of the above, and more! Quantum mathematician Micho Durdevich calls the Zometool a physical embodiment of quantum math: "It's math you can feel." If you think you're "bad at math," think again: this elegant tool makes it beautiful, simple and fun.
The Zometool enhances creativity and intelligence. When you share the Zometool with children, you will be making an important investment in their future. The Zometool has already informed the work of mathematicians, scientists, architects and artists around the world, including at least 5 Nobel prizewinners. But we designed it for kids, who will create a better world!
Work or play with the Zometool, and you feel the shape number. Everything about the Zometool -- shape, length and vector in space -- is related to the numbers 1, 2, 3, or 5 (green, blue, yellow or red lines). Relationships among these numbers are at the foundation of our universe. As Zometool founder Marc Pelletier said, "the structure of number is the structure of space."
The mathematical basis of the Zometool was discovered by visionary architect Steve Baer in the late 1960s. Inspired by Clark RIchert and other artists living in Drop City, Colorado, Baer and associates developed a new form of architecture based on zonohedral geometry. They called these buildings "zomes." Baer asked Richert to design a sign for his new company, Zomeworks Corporation, and Richert turned to the Zometoy (a prototype of the Zometool) for inspiration. When he cast a shadow of a 30-sided solid (the rhombic triacontahedron), he discovered Richert-Penrose tiles, 8 years before Roger Penrose published his version in Scientific American.
Inspired by Baer's Zome Primer, Marc Pelletier sought out Baer and Richert, eventually meeting Paul Hildebrandt in Richert's studio in 1980. Almost immediately, the two decided to make the Zometoy user-friendly, and 12 years later the Zometool was born.
The Zometool unites the cubic structure of crystals with the 5-fold symmetries of life. This beautiful marriage encompasses Fibonacci numbers, fractals, the Divine Proportion, sacred geometry, R. Buckminster Fuller's synergetics, projections from up to 61 dimensions, and so much more. Quantum math is the mother of all maths and queen of the sciences. The Zometool turns quantum math into child's play!