Multidisciplinary learning at the University scientific museums: the Bunsen burner

TL;DR

This paper describes a hands-on summer program at university museums aimed at engaging high school students with historical scientific instruments, fostering interest and understanding of scientific history and practices.

Contribution

It introduces a multidisciplinary, experiential learning activity involving students, university researchers, and museum collections to promote science education and historical awareness.

Findings

Students gained practical knowledge of Bunsen burners.

Students improved their ability to communicate scientific concepts.

The activity increased student interest in scientific history.

Abstract

We report on a laboratory activity carried out together with secondary school (high-school) students, with the aim of increasing their interest toward historical scientific instruments and stimulate their approach to scientific knowledge. To this purpose, we propose a hands-on activity that can be fruitfully performed at the University scientific museums. We organized a one-week summer stage at the Historical Collection of Physics Instruments and at the Museum of Chemistry of the University of Palermo. A group of selected students attended it, under the tutoring of university researchers. They were showed some Bunsen burners belonging to the collections, how they are restored, how they work and how they were used in the chemical laboratories. At the end of the stage, students introduced museum visitors to these instruments, describing them and referring about the activities they had carried out.