Maker Faire Rome 2023
Making fun with symmetries
The activities were designed for primary school students in order to get insights into geometrical concepts by exploiting simple arguments and specific games dealing with symmetries. In particular, “dynamical models”, softwares, and mirrors were employed. During the event, concepts have been progressively explained through the manipulation of materials, observation and subsequent mental and verbal reworking. Complex concepts like phase transitions or symmetry breaking phenomena in material science are explained using geometric figures. Connections between symmetries and geometrical properties of a figure are explained, in parallel to examples in material science, in a perspective of a multidsciplinary project.
https://www.spin.cnr.it/outreach-and-t-t/events/item/95-la-realta-oltre-lo-specchio-divertirsi-con-le-simmetrie
Maker
Alessandro Stroppa
Alessandro Stroppa (July 14th 1976) is a Research Director of the CNR-SPIN Institute (Italy) and deputy director of unit in L’Aquila (Italy). He received his PhD in Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics from University of Trieste (Italy) in 2006 and he continued his research in computational materials science at University of Vienna. After 2009, he joined the CNR in Italy where he became permanent staff in 2013. He is contract professor at University of L’Aquila (Italy), and invited professor at Shanghai and South East University (China). Since 2019 he is actively working on science activities for Primary School students, in line with the CNR Mission for the science outreach. Karin Giorgini, Primary School teacher at the Istituto Comprensivo di Isola del G.S.-Colledara. Graduated in Primary Education Sciences and in Environmental Sciences and Technologies. Born in Giulianova (TE) on 09/27/1986. Her passion is mathematics and geometry teaching, she collaborates with dr. Alessandro Stroppa (CNR) for the scientific dissemination of educational proposals suitable for primary school.
