The collection of the ancient physics instruments of the department of Physics and Astronomy of UniCT. Teaching experience and scientific dissemination

The Department of Physics and Astronomy “E. Majorana” of the Uni-versity of Catania is the repository of a precious heritage of “scientific cultural heritage”, which has a great historical value as well as scien-tific. The rich collection, which is part of the recently constituted Mu-seum System of the University (SiMuA), including at the moment almost 300 restored ancient instruments, testifies that what the physicists of Catania have achieved today has its origin in the hard and far-sighted commitment of the previous generations of scientists. Although the collection does not yet have a suitable location, however, the visit of the exhibition of ancient instruments is included in all the initiatives that involve external public, especially school students, in particular in the initiatives organised in the framework of the MIUR Plan “Lauree Scientifiche”. More recently, a project of “Alternanza Scuola-Lavoro”, as well as aimed at raising awareness among students on the promotion of cultural heritage in general and ancient scientific instruments in particular, was an opportunity to involve students in the start of a new cataloguing of the instruments. The students were also involved in presenting and "telling" the instruments to their peers, testi-fying to the great potential of scientific dissemination that a collection of ancient instruments possesses