Working groups

Invitations leaflets are available in various languages

inglese / italiano / arabo / francese / urdu / bengalese

YOU ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE!

Science from the Islamic world to today's Europe - Cross-fertilisation between past and future

A project of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padua

AIMS OF THE PROJECT:

  1. To examine the history of science and shed light on the exchanges of scientific knowledge and practices between different cultures
  2. To make these enriching exchanges known to the broad public in Padua and beyond

THE PROPOSAL:

We propose to create mixed working groups, composed by members of the local Islamic communities and other foreign communities, and PhD students from the University of Padua. These groups will work in a continuous exchange of ideas and knowledge using the rich collection of scientific instruments of the Giovanni Poleni Museum.

The working groups will attend some training meetings from October 2022 to February 2023. Each group will then develop its own science communication project, which will be presented to the public in Padua by May 2023.

In order to shed light on the exchange of experiences between different cultural traditions, the groups will focus on the following themes:

  • Scientific instruments between Islam and Christian Europe from the Middle Ages to Renaissance
  • Modern science in Europe between the 17th and 19th centuries

For example, we will learn how to use an astrolabe to find the direction of Mecca, as it has been done for many centuries in Islamic countries.

NO SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IS NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE: this is a special occasion for everyone to:

  1. learn more about the history of science
  2. train in science communication
  3. become protagonist of new science communication projects 

MEETINGS OF THE WORKING GROUPS:  we will have five or six 3-hour meetings at the Giovanni Poleni Museum (Department of Physics and Astronomy), via Loredan 10, Padua. The meetings will be scheduled at times compatible with workers’ and students’ schedules, from October 2022 to May 2023.

YOUNG PEOPLE, ADULTS and FAMILIES ARE INVITED… EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

If you are interested in the project, write us an e-mail to museo.fisica(at)unipd(dot)itby 30 September 2022.