The first section of the exhibition is an introduction, designed to reach many levels of access.

Before entering the main exhibition area the visitor is shown the various possibilities on offer so that maximum benefit can be reaped from the exhibition within the time available. Key to this process is a navigational exhibit, an interactive, user-friendly digital device and ΤsmartΥ database of the subjects of the exhibition and the exhibits themselves. This exhibit gives the visitor the opportunity to formulate a personal tour, tailored to his or her particular interests. Then, by way of introduction to the subject, there is a brief presentation on the importance of Greek mathematics to the history of science and culture.

The main part of the first section is the tour of the culture and mathematics of the people of Egypt and Mesopotamia during the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. A series of activities reveals to the visitor the arithmetical and computational systems of these two cultures.