The project “A new light for the schools of Sardinia“, a scientific education initiative promoted by the Cagliari Observatory and carried out in collaboration with the Cultural Association Science Lab, under the supervision of the Social Cooperative NOA (No Obstacles to Learning), concluded on Friday, May 29.
Four middle school classes involved, about eighty students and 11 teachers from Quartu Sant’Elena (Comprehensive Institute No. 3 on Via Portogallo) and from Cagliari (Comprehensive Institute Tuveri Randaccio Don Milani on Via Venezia), gathered at the new premises of the Cagliari Observatory to conclude a step-by-step journey that led them to understand the nature of light, its manifestations, and its physical properties, to study visible and invisible light, and to explore its importance in exploring the nearby and distant Universe.
A journey that also tackled the methods of science, the experimental approach, and the importance of error in the process of learning and knowledge, in an attempt to “shed light” on the students’ abilities to tackle various scientific topics.
During the final stage, the students attended a show at the Planetarium, swiss replica watches specially created for them, and engaged in decoding a message using binary code and the ordered sequence of visible light colors.
A message sent from outside Earth, which was only revealed at the end to have come from none other than the International Space Station (ISS).
ESA’s Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who, besides doing great work at the ISS as part of the Futura mission, is also very engaged with young people, greeted the students of the project with a dedicated tweet. It was received with gratitude and great emotion by everyone, students, teachers, and organizers. 
The project ends here for the students, who were rewarded as a class with the book “Astrokids: Adventures and Discoveries in Space”, created by a group of INAF researchers as part of outreach and educational initiatives. But it continues for teachers and operators, who are currently engaged in the challenging task of evaluating the methodologies used and the results achieved.
The project “New light in the schools of Sardinia” benefited from financial support from the Banco di Sardegna Foundation, which we thank for the trust placed in us.