Frightening.

For a lot of school kids — and adults — that about sums up the idea of math.

Now, though, the Math Midway, a traveling mathematics exhibition that opened last week at the Lancaster Science Factory, 454 New Holland Ave., is part of the equation.

And that changes things, according to Glenn Whitney, the prime mover behind the exhibition.

Whitney is also the executive director of the proposed Museum of Mathematics in New York City. He was in Lancaster Saturday to help kick off the Math Midway's April 23-June 1 run at the Science Factory.

"I'm currently on a mission to help change the public perception of mathematics," Whitney said.

If anything can realize Whitney's goal of getting American kids to excel again in math and science, it should be the Math Midway.

The carnival-themed attraction's 15 interactive stations emphasize the beauty and practicality of math.

Each station has a concise explanation of a mathematical principle.

There's the Rollergraphicoaster, for example: wire track segments can be flexed into an infinite number of shapes to see how they affect the speed of a metal ball released from the top.

(Theorems may scare 'em. But anyone who plays around with this display inadvertently absorbs a calculus lesson.)

At the Organ Function Grinder, you set a trio of dials and turn a crank to create a personalized "function" and corresponding tune. Changing the value of the function, which is a fundamental concept in mathematics, alters the tune.

A kid could grasp that.

Many have since the Math Midway debuted in the Big Apple last June and started touring the country.

It's the first-ever math exhibition at the Science Factory, said membership and business development director Amanda Brunish, who added that arithmetic wasn't one of her favorite school subjects.

But that's OK because it wasn't Whitney's, either, until he attended a summer school program and became a convert.

He went on to teach mathematics at the University of Michigan and then spent a decade working as a mathematician for a hedge fund manager, Renaissance Technologies.

Whitney is now 40, in positive integers.

"You discover many beautiful things" in pursuit of math, he said.

What has inspired him all these years is the idea that mathematical patterns are everywhere.

Those passing cars on New Holland Avenue? The wheel lugs are arranged in a super-strong pentagonal shape, Whitney said. If one lug flies off, the rest will hold the wheel secure.

And consider this. The mathematical breakthroughs that allow digitally encoded messages to reach your cell phone were achieved in the 1950s, according to Whitney.

Kids might not go off on those sorts of tangents in the classroom, he added. "If you think of math as a forest. ... In school, you basically see one straight road bulldozed through it. Here at the Math Midway, you can take a stroll."

Lancaster resident Andre Stanley was doing just that, with his 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.

Stanley said the exhibit was giving him a good chance to brush up on math before starting courses at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. "You're never too old to learn."

Or to pedal a square-wheeled tricycle across a yellow platform that looks like a giant daisy.

"I've ridden it," said Lancaster Science Factory volunteer Alex Lin, referring to the Pedal on the Petals display. "It works" mathematically because the humps on the platform dovetail with the wheels to smooth out the ride.

Lin is a junior at Manheim Township High School. Math Midway is "backing up what I'm learning in math and physics," he said.

The Science Factory will extend its hours during the six weeks of the Math Midway, opening 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays. Special hours also will be offered on some Fridays. For details, call 509-6363 or e-mail info@tlsf.org.