Photo Gallery of the exhibits
Interactive exhibits of physical objects are the most effective way to communicate the ancient technologies.
In fact, I believe that in order to learn it is appropriate to manipulate physical objects and not just abstract renderings on the screen.
Areas covered include: computing before the digital age, communication before the Internet, and navigation before GPS.
Slide rules and mechanical calculators
The objective is to teach responsible use of new technologies and computerization, to prevent mental dependency that can have significant impacts on social life. Precisely:
- arouse curiosity about slide rule and mechanical calculators;
- illustrate their history and use;
- demonstrate the need to use computers critically.
Somebody write notes
Crowd
Nomographs helps the boys to understand logarithms
Youngs learn at the fly
Teaching to the teachers
Lesson of nomography to children
Practice with pascaline
Telegraphy and communication
The culture of instant information sharing was born in the 1800s. Back then, news and stock trade transactions traveled in real time over 650,000 km of telegraph network.
In the last century you could chat online by means of Ham radio, a network entirely built by devoted hobbyists.
Now we are always connected, but these systems may fail and only the Ham network can provide emergency communication.
Re-discovering these technologies, we should ask ourselves: how our present world will be viewed in the future?
People interested
Volunteers of the Civil Defence
Interview for local TV
Very rare Radiguet pre-Morse telegraphs
Telegraphic equipment
Many students
The radio of IS1EHM, the first Italian female radio amateur
Postal telegraph station
Traditional navigation
The development of cartography and nautical instruments favored the cultural exchanges. Without the knowledge of the territory and the methods to visit it, there is no civilization and trade.
The technologies have evolved, but the principles remain the same, now used by space probes. We have no GPS signal outside the earth.
How did the Ulysses, Columbus and Apollo astronauts find the route? Let's rediscover these systems, on the basis unchanged for centuries: the satellite navigator exists only since 1990.
2018, presentation of the navigation exhibit
Every two years SonS organizes Europe's biggest science teaching festival, where teachers from all over Europe exchange their projects. Participants are chosen through national events and their proposal reaches ca 100,000 teachers in 26 European countries and Canada.
My project on the old calculators won twice the Italian competition, being then represented in 2013 in Slubice (Poland), in 2015 in London and in 2016 again in Poland for the National Event.
My program for Science on Stage
Science on Stage Poland, Slubice, 2013: the stand
Science on Stage London 2015: the stand
Science on Stage London 2015: teachers from all the world
Poland, Science on Stage at Poznań, 2016: the stand
Various events
Reconstruction of an electrical analog calculator
© 2008 - 2026 Nicola Marras Manfredi - IS1EH
