IDEAS FROM
SERAFINO ZANI ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
Two Weeks
in Italy
Each year, since 1995, Serafino Zani Astronomical Observatory has been
organizing an appointment called " Two Weeks in Italy for an American
Planetarium Operator" in collaboration with the IPS (International
Planetarium Society) Portable Planetarium Committee. An American planetarium
operator who wins this contest receives a chance to get to know Italian
culture, to work with students and to do some site seeing. The planetarian
who wins this trip presents lessons in English with the portable planetarium
Starlab and other projectors to Italian students of English.
Day of Planetaria
We have
been coordinating a "Day of Planetaria" that has been held
in March in different countries yearly since 1995; Italian planetaria
have been involved in this project since 1991. This initiative is an
important opportunity for involving the international community in a
collaboration that aims to promote the knowledge of planetaria to the
public.
Planetaria that are usually open on Sundays are invited to collaborate
with the "Day".
European
Meeting of Mobile Planetaria
The first European Meeting of Itinerant Planetaria was held in 1995
in Brescia (Italy) and the second Meeting in Strasbourg (France, 1999),
in collaboration with the IPS Portable Planetarium Committee. Follows
the list of these meetings: Lumezzane, Strasbourg, Nantes, Bratislava,
Oporto, Chorzow, Kallio.
Astronomical
tour in Brescia area
In the Brescia area we organized two international planetarium meetings,
the first one, the “European Meeting of Mobile Planetaria” was held
in 1995 and the second one, the “Meeting of French-Speaking Association”
was held in 2001, it involved planetarians from France, Switzerland,
Belgium and from the far La Reunion Island. On other occasions, colleagues
from different nations also joined us to take part in an "Astronomical
Tour in Brescia".
Individual and group visits include a tour to museums and monuments
of astronomical interest in the city of Brescia and train fares (places
to visit are only two hours by train from Brescia).
The area around Brescia is well known for its natural beauties and historic
places such as the lake of Garda and the stone engravings of Valle Camonica,
one of the most important sites in the world. Brescia is near the famous
cities of Verona and Milan, which are only one hour by train, and from
Brescia there is a train connection to Venice and Florence, (only 3
hours by fast train). If requested, it is also possible to organize
a visit to other Italian planetaria.
In Valley Trompia (Brescia), where Serafino Zani Astronomical Observatory
is located, a wide museum system exists (Iron Way) that describes mining,
old way of working and the industrial activities of this district. The
Observatory is located in the industrial town of Lumezzane that is at
twenty kilometers to north from Brescia.
In Brescia area it is possible and worthwhile to visit monuments, museums
and historic buildings also of astronomical interest. This astronomical
tour includes: a XVI century astronomical clock in the main square of
the city; an horizontal sundial of 1792 (in Brescia we organize a biannual
international competition “Shadows of time” dedicated to the construction
of sundials); a XIX century painting "Newton discovers the refraction
of light" (City Art Museum) with many elements of astronomical
interest; an astronomical globe of Henricus Hondius; a collection of
old astronomical and science instruments and clocks, including an 1052
year astrolabe. All these pieces are housed in the Santa Giulia Museum,
the most famous one in the city of Brescia. The tour can end in the
castle of Brescia, which is located on the top of the small hill that
marks the center of the town. The castle offers a beautiful view of
the city and a relaxing walk in the castle garden where a popular astronomical
observatory can be visited. Another site of astronomical interest is
the Natural Science Museum where the main italian meteorite, falling
in Alfianello (Brescia area), is exhibited.
"Newton
discovers the refraction of light" (Brescia City Art Museum)
FOR
INFORMATIONS:
Centro studi e ricerche Serafino Zani, via Bosca 24
25066 Lumezzane (Brescia) - Italy
fax (39) 30 87 25 45 - tel. (39) 30 87 21 64, osservatorio@serafinozani.it
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