A DFA and Giovanni Poleni Museum project

Science from the Islamic World to Today's Europe
Cross-Fertilisation between Past and Future

Proposed by the Department of Physics and Astronomy with the collaboration of various partners, the project is funded by the University of Padua. It aims at presenting to the public various aspects of the development of science from the Islamic contributions up to cutting-edge physics and astronomy, shedding light on the exchanges and cross-fertilisation between various countries and cultures.

Various public events will thus be scheduled, including lectures, lecture-demonstrations, guided tours of the Poleni Museum.

Inclusion and the active participation of the local community are two of the main features of the project, which is actually based on the co-creation of knowledge by the public. In this sense, mixed working groups will be formed, composed of members of the local Islamic communities and other foreign communities, and PhD students from the University of Padua; these groups will work in synergy, in a continuous exchange of ideas and knowledge, using the rich collection of scientific instruments of the Giovanni Poleni Museum. For the PhD students, the participation in the project is part of a Soft Skills PhD course. The working groups will have several training meetings, from October 2022 to March 2023. Each group will then develop a new science communication project, which will be presented to the public in Padua in April-May 2023.

The project also includes the organisation of an exhibition on glass, articulated between archaeology, art, and cutting-edge science.