Do yourself a favor and pop “Fermat’s Room” in your DVD player during math class.

“In this psychological thriller, 4 mathematicians are imprisoned in a shrinking room; with the walls closing in, they must try anything to escape this fatal puzzle.”

Group the students into fours, name them after the characters in the film (Galois, Hilbert, Oliva, and Pascal), and pause the DVD whenever a new puzzle is presented. Start a timer. Then watch the kids work.

Get the Enigmas from the film so you can copy and give to your students.

“Fermat’s Room” is available at Blockbuster but (sadly) not yet on Netflix.