Misurare crateri e montagne lunari : progetto, osservazioni, misure, monitoraggio, focus group. Il progetto LERU - Kids University 2005 all'Università degli Studi di Milano

In the context of the European Project Kids University promoted by the League of European Research Universities (LERU), the Universita degli Studi in Milan has proposed to 60 ten-to-twelve-year-old students to carry out observations of the Moon with a telescope in order to measure the height of its mountains and the diameter of its craters. The students have thus made a real observational activity and they have been requested to connect the mathematical and geometrical concepts they have learned at school to the context of physical measures. The initiative has been carried out at the Brera Astronomical Museum and its historical meaning has been emphasized: in fact lunar mountains and craters were firstly observed in the 1609 by Galileo Galilei who suggested a method, for their measurements, which has been partially used by the students. The students who have participated in the initiative presented it to kids of their own age in a very crowded meeting. Further, some students of the school "Sabin" in Segrate (Milan), with the help of their teachers, have made a video documentary about the experience. Finally, a focus group has been carried out to evaluate the impact of the initiative upon the participants.