apply, and react to a variety of mathematical experiences, learning to master different concepts over time, at their own paces, rather than being presented with a single topic to study until mastered. The curriculum introduced many basic concepts such as fractions and integers earlier than normal. Later in the project's development, new content in probability and geometry was introduced. The curriculum contained a range of supporting material including story books with mathematical problems, with lessons often posed in a story, designed to feature both real world and fantasy situations. One character in these books was Eli the Elephant, a pachyderm with a bag of magic peanuts, some representing positive integers and some negative. Another lesson was titled "Nora's Neighborhood," which taught taxicab geometry. Minicomputer One device used throughout the program was the Papy Minicomputer, named after Frédérique Papy-Lenger – the most influential figure to the project – and her husband Georges Papy. A Minicomputer is a 2 by 2 grid of squares, with the quarters representing the numbers 1, 2, 4, and 8. Checkers can be placed on the grid to represent different numbers in a similar fashion to the way the binary numeral system is used to represent numbers in a computer. The Minicomputer is laid out as follows: a white square in the lower right corner with a value of 1, a red square in the lower-left with a value of 2, a purple square in the upper right with a value of 4, and a brown square in the upper left with a value of 8. Each Minicomputer is designed to represent a single decimal digit, and multiple Minicomputers can be used together to represent multiple-digit numbers. Each successive board's values are increased by a power of ten. For example, a second Minicomputer's squares – placed to the left of the first – will represent 10, 20, 40, and 80; a third, 100, 200, 400, and 800, and so on. Minicomputers to the right of a vertical bar (placed to the right of the first board, representing a decimal point) may be used to represent decimal numbers. Students are instructed to represent values on the Minicomputers by adding checkers to the proper squares. To do this only requires a memorization of representations for the digits zero through nine, although non-standard representations are possible since squares can hold more than one checker. Each checker is worth the value