Attività didattiche peer-reviewed

Le attività Space Awareness sono state selezionate in base agli argomenti più popolari in tema di esplorazione dello spazio nei programmi scolastici. Questi argomenti sono il risultato di un sondaggio somministrato agli educatori di dieci nazioni europee e in Sud Africa nel 2015. Tutte le risorse sono state riviste da un educatore e da uno scienziato, e migliorate da docenti ed educatori europei e mondiali. Se vuoi partecipare al gruppo pilota, contattaci.

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JOURNEY OF IDEAS
There is a chronic underrepresentation in Europe of children from migrant communities that choose to pursue careers in science, technology and engineering. Consequently an enormous reservoir of untapped talent exists that could be potentially mobilised for the benefit of society. The Space Awareness Programme is therefore devoting special attention to reaching out to schoolchildren in migrant. We regard it as important to show children in these communities that they belong to a rich heritage of distinguished scientists who helped shape the global history of astronomy and space sciences during the Islamic Golden Ages and beyond. The recent influx of refugees to Europe from the Middle East and Africa, the majority of which are Moslem, makes the need for such an approach more acute. Thus, more than ever it is necessary to build a bridge between the Islamic culture and Latin Europe. One way of doing this is to identify common roots between these apparently two different worlds. Astronomy as a field of knowledge common to humankind seems to be ideal to build this bridge. In this sense, the present astronomical heritage kit “The journey of the ideas” and its corresponding handbook will contribute to fill the 1000 years gap in the history of science by showing concrete examples of the influence of Islamic science on the development of modern astronomy, optics and space sciences. - Journey of Ideas author: Dr. Cecilia Scorza, Haus der Astronomy -
Chapter 1 - Introduction to the Journey of Ideas
Since the dawn of history, astronomy has played an important role in human development. The beauty, regularity and persistency of the starry night sky have been a source of wonderment. The ability to predict the motions of the Sun, planets and stars were decisive factors in the emergence of agriculture and navigation in early civilisations. Mathematics, geometry and the first measuring instruments were developed and used to accurately track stars in the sky. The interplay between observations and explanations triggered ideas that eventually led to the development of modern astronomy and space exploration. These ideas were however not developed in a single place and time, but made a long journey through many regions, where they met other ideas from other cultures, became enriched and triggered new ideas. This is the story of this journey.
ACTIVITIES CHAPTER1
Activities1.1: The Journey of the Astronomical Ideas on the Map
Chapter 2 - The Rise of Astronomy as a Science
Many ancient cultures made use of the periodic movement of the stars to measure time and make calendars. These were used to fix the time of religious festivities, for letting farmers know when to plant crops, and even for the collection of taxes. Thus, for many centuries many old civilisations - including the Babylonians, Egyptians, Chinese, Indians and Mayans - developed and used astronomy for practical purposes. However, something very special happened 600 BCE in the city of Miletus (today´s Turkey). Since then, exploring nature, the night sky and mathematics became a fascinating endeavor independently of any practical applications. Knowledge itself became highly valuable.
ACTIVITIES CHAPTER2
Activities2.1: Stargazing with Hipparchus
Activities2.2: Measuring the Size of the Earth
Activities2.3: Discovering the Shape of the Earth
Activities2.4: Visualizing and Understanding Lunar Eclipses
Activities2.5: Visualising and Understanding Solar Eclipses
Activities2.6: Visualising the Lunar Phases
Chapter 3 - The Long Way to Baghdad: Gathering and Translating Knowledge
From the 7th Century CE, at the same speed in which the Islamic empire spread from the Arabian Peninsula to the East as well as to the West extending over Egypt, whole North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, knowledge in the fields of medicine, mathematics, physics, astronomy and engineering also spread. Arabic became the language of science, the huge empire turned into a connected corridor to develop, exchange and communicate knowledge.
ACTIVITIES CHAPTER3
Activities3.1: Build your own Moon calendar
Chapter 4 - The Birth of the Astronomical Ideas
Since the dawn of history our ancestors observed the sky that led to the discovery of the periodicity of sky phenomena. They noticed that the Sun rose and set periodically. The Moon changed its shape, and the shapes repeated. Groups of stars were visible sometimes and disappeared to become visible again at a later time. The Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia, assigned gods to the planets and observed their motions in the sky. Like in other polytheistic cultures, the Sumerians projected their gods onto the sky, making them responsible for all earthy events including weather, earthquakes, rain, birth and death. In 2500 BCE, priests in Babylon (Iraq at present) and Egypt continued with the Sumerian tradition and recorded their observations. Later on they started to make use of the observed regularity in the sky to measure time and to make calendars. Astronomical observations were used for fixing the time of religious festivals, for the time of prayer, for letting farmers know when to plant crops, for helping sailors to navigate their ships and find the way back home, and even for the time to collect taxes. Thus, for many centuries in different cultures astronomy and mathematics were used as a practical tool linked not only to religion but also to daily life.
ACTIVITIES CHAPTER4
Activities4.1: Counting and Reading the Hour in Cuneiform Digits
Activities4.2: Build a Nile flood Sirius Calendar
Activities4.3: Build a Babylonian Sundial
Chapter 5 - Meet Four Islamic Scholars of the Islamic Golden Ages
Meet the following four scholars of the Islamic world, who provided great Islamic contributions to the development of astronomy: the astronomer Al-Sufi from Rayy (Persia), the instrument maker Miriam al-Astrulabi from Allepo (Syria), the physicist Ibn al-Haytham from Basra (Iraq) and the founder of the first university of the world Fatima al-Fihri in Fez (Morocco).
ACTIVITIES CHAPTER5
Activities5.1: Discover the Colours of the Stars
Activities5.2: Child migration
Activities5.3: Discover the Meaning of the Arabic names of the Stars
Activities5.4: Help Al-Sufi match the Arabic and Greek constellations
Activities5.5: Travel with Fatima from Kairouan to Fes
Activities5.6: Refraction of Light
Activities5.7: Camera Obscura
Activities5.8: How long did it take for Ibn Al-Haytham to travel from Basra to Cairo?
Activities5.9: Time and Space around Me
Activities5.10: How big is that Thing?
Activities5.11: Build your own astrolabe
Activities5.12: Help Al-Sufi match the Greek and Arabic constellations