EXPL RE! GALILEO’S WORLD
Galileo Galilei lived over 400 years ago in Italy. He studied math, art, and science, but is mainly remembered for his work with astronomy. Astronomy is the study of the stars, planets, and moons in outer space. Use this guide to explore Galileo’s world and make discoveries of your own!
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Galileo Galilei lived over 400 years ago in Italy. He studied math, art, and science, but is mainly remembered for his work with astronomy. Astronomy is the study of the stars, planets, and moons in outer space. Use this guide to explore Galileo’s world and make discoveries of your own!
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Have you noticed there are several books in this exhibition? During Galileo’s lifetime, books helped share new information and discoveries. This rare copy of the Starry Messenger (Sidereus Nuncius), written by Galileo, has his signature and handwritten notes inside.
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Perspective is a technique used by artists to make their drawings look real. Look carefully at this example. What looks closest to you? What looks farther away? The artist makes some things larger or smaller to create the illusion of depth on a flat piece of paper. Galileo learned about perspective while training as an artist.
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Have you noticed there are several books in this exhibition? During Galileo’s lifetime, books helped share new information and discoveries. This rare copy of the Starry Messenger (Sidereus Nuncius), written by Galileo, has his signature and handwritten notes inside.
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Perspective is a technique used by artists to make their drawings look real. Look carefully at this example. What looks closest to you? What looks farther away? The artist makes some things larger or smaller to create the illusion of depth on a flat piece of paper. Galileo learned about perspective while training as an artist.
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Along with perspective, Galileo learned how to use light and shadow to make art look more realistic. When he looked at the moon through his telescope, Galileo discovered that the strange shadows on the surface were actually craters and mountains. Can you find a close-up image of the moon and describe what Galileo saw through his telescope?
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The moon appears to change throughout the month because the earth revolves around the sun, which casts shadows on different parts of the moon’s surface. How many different phases of the moon can you find in the exhibition?
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Along with perspective, Galileo learned how to use light and shadow to make art look more realistic. When he looked at the moon through his telescope, Galileo discovered that the strange shadows on the surface were actually craters and mountains. Can you find a close-up image of the moon and describe what Galileo saw through his telescope?
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The moon appears to change throughout the month because the earth revolves around the sun, which casts shadows on different parts of the moon’s surface. How many different phases of the moon can you find in the exhibition?
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Did you know there are 88 constellations in the night sky? A constellation is a named group of stars that make a pattern. Galileo used his telescope to discover new stars in the constellations of Orion and the Pleiades. Can you find either of these two star patterns in the exhibition?
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In addition to discovering new stars and the craters on the moon, Galileo used his telescope to observe the planet Jupiter and its moons. He also was able to prove that the earth revolves around the sun when everyone else believed it did not.
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Did you know there are 88 constellations in the night sky? A constellation is a named group of stars that make a pattern. Galileo used his telescope to discover new stars in the constellations of Orion and the Pleiades. Can you find either of these two star patterns in the exhibition?
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In addition to discovering new stars and the craters on the moon, Galileo used his telescope to observe the planet Jupiter and its moons. He also was able to prove that the earth revolves around the sun when everyone else believed it did not.
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Galileo’s discoveries helped shape and influence our current understanding of science and astronomy. Thanks to Galileo, we have been inspired to explore the universe as well as the world around us! What did you learn while exploring with Galileo today?
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Galileo’s discoveries helped shape and influence our current understanding of science and astronomy. Thanks to Galileo, we have been inspired to explore the universe as well as the world around us! What did you learn while exploring with Galileo today?
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Feel the Adventure!
Cover: Alexander Calder (U.S., 1898 –1976) (Abstract Design), n.d. Lithograph printed in colors, 22 ¼ x 30 in. Creighton Gilbert Bequest, 2011 Page 3: Galileo Galilei (Italy, 1564 –1642) Sidereus Nuncius (Venice, 1610) Image courtesy of the History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries
Page 4: Albrecht Dürer (Germany, 1471–1528) The Presentation of the Virgin, 1511 Woodcut, 11 ¾ x 8 ¼ in. Purchase, Museum of Art Association and the University Women’s Association, 1975 Above: Filmation Studios The Enterprise from Star Trek: The Animated Series, 1973 –74 Gouache on celluloid Museum purchase, 1981