In the last twelve years, nine volumes of the Scientific Instruments and Collections series have appeared. They include contributions by over ninety different authors working as university scholars, museum directors, collection managers, curators, restorers, collectors, antiquarians and, with this volume, science and mathematics educators.
Over such a time interval, several changes have occurred. Sadly, a few authors have passed away, and I wish to recall Inge Keil, Inga Elmqvist Söderlund and James Caplan. On the positive side, Scientific Instruments and Collections has been transformed from a branch of the History of Science and Medicine Library into an independent series. I therefore would like to thank Stefan Einarson and Rosanna Woensdregt of Brill for the trust accorded to the Scientific Instrument Commission (SIC) of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPST), the volumes editors and authors, the series editorial board and myself. We always try to publish only the most recent research on ancient and historical scientific instruments.
The present volume is, in fact, the first book completely dedicated to the use of historical scientific instruments in educational activities for primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, museums, exhibitions and cultural festivals. As Elizabeth Cavicchi and Peter Heering specify in the Introduction, there is no intention to systematise every aspect of the topic. The volume presents selected papers from annual SIC meetings, and the authors represent nine countries (Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the USA) and about twenty institutions. Nevertheless, the educational initiatives expounded upon in the following pages outline a vast array of combinations between historical scientific instruments, educators, students and the general public. The connecting live-wire is the conviction that historical apparatus facilitates the understanding of those scientific principles which usually disappear within the “black boxes” of today’s laboratories.
Among the collection of examples to adopt and adapt to any exigencies, the readers might, however, find too much. In some cases, an educational activity presented as regular practice by an author cannot be identically replicated elsewhere. The public use of historical scientific instruments is limited by the law of some countries and the internal protocols of different institutions. Such limits are only partially emphasised in the volume chapters, and require a few words of caution.
Firstly, the law and safety protocols might regulate – limit or forbid – the public use of some objects (especially those with sharp parts), dangerous substances (for example: mercury, asbestos and other chemicals), and physical phenomena (electricity, radioactivity, and so on). Even the best precautions presented by an author might not be enough when moved to another context. Before replicating any activities, it is therefore important to carefully check if they are permitted by local law.
Secondly, the concept of “cultural heritage” is still evolving and strongly country-dependent. The local law and regulations might establish if a scientific instrument is a “cultural heritage item”, and if and how it can be touched, activated, used or restored. For example, we learn from the book that MIT students visiting Harvard University were allowed to handle an original Galileo compass. At the Museo Galileo in Florence, access to another original Galileo compass would be granted only to students with specific university-level research projects, and under very strict controls. As another example, we learn that, in France, science students restore historical scientific instruments. But restoration is “cultural heritage”-dependent too. While an “old” scientific instrument in private hands can be restored by anyone, in Italy an “historical” scientific instrument in a public institution can only be restored by a professional restorer and his/her pupils. As a final example, we learn from the book about historical instruments put into operation. Once again, this depends on the law, as repeated public performances favours the deterioration of the item. In this case, the authors of the book offer different perspectives, from the regular use of not-so-important devices, through the exceptional use of important devices, up to the use of museum devices activated by the expert in order to finally film their functioning once and for all.
The invitation to attentively examine local law before trying to emulate anything, does not emphasise a limit, but rather an interesting aspect of the book. The volume takes a picture of the awareness of the relationship between historical scientific instruments and the “cultural heritage” in different countries and institutions. The purpose of the many educational activities presented is, by the way, to increase such an awareness by the interaction between the students and scientific instruments from the past.
To conclude, at the end of twelve years between the first and the ninth volume of this series, another important change will take place. From the next volume, the tenth, Scientific Instruments and Collections will pass to the hands of another very capable general editor, who will bring in new ideas and indicate new perspectives. It is my pleasure to wish A.D. Morrison-Low success in the future; and, in addition to hers, acknowledge the steady collaboration that I received from the present and past series editors: Stephen Johnston, Mara Miniati and Sara Schechner. Many thanks to them and to all the volume editors and authors who contributed to the success of the series.
Giorgio Strano (General Editor)
May 2021