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Five girls are conducting an experiment at a table. One girl is holding a glass bottle—from which a rod with a ball at the end protrudes—up to a small metal cone resting on a small round plate with a smooth, black surface.

Milestones School Lab

The Milestones School Lab takes young people on a journey back in time. Using reproductions of historical equipment, young people perform significant experiments from the past in the realms of optics and electricity.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

In a letter from 1675, Isaac Newton penned his famous dictum, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” That’s the spirit that animates the Milestones School Lab. It introduces two major scientists from the past, such as Isaac Newton or Alessandro Volta, and then leads students through some of their key experiments. The “Opticks” and “Electricity” programs complement school curricula and are aimed at students from 5th to 10th grade. They expand on concepts introduced in other parts of Science Center Spectrum.

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Three girls are conducting an experiment at a table. On the table are a large, round plate with a smooth, dark surface, some paper, and a piece of fur. There is also a glass bottle at the end of the table; its lower part appears to be wrapped in silver foil. It is sealed with a cork, into which a metal rod is inserted. At the tip of the rod is a small ball. A girl is standing and holding a silver metal plate suspended by three strings above a dark plate of roughly the same size. The other two girls are sitting and looking at the silver plate. The girl on the right is holding the small ball from a second one of these special glass bottles toward the hanging plate.
The students are conducting research on electricity by replicating historical experiments.
SDTB/ Photo: C. Kirchner

Historical Experiments in a Special Setting

Performing experiments with replicas built on the basis of laborious research in original sources is a special experience. While using this equipment, students must confront the same challenges faced by scientists of the past. They work with standard materials of the time like lycopodium powder and resin. In addition, they consult written sources, such as letters and descriptions, which shed light on the scientists’ life and work. By seeing how ideas and insights were exchanged, they also develop an understanding for how scientific communication worked in the past.

Three girls are conducting an experiment at a table. Two are sitting across from each other at the table, while a third is standing on the far right. She is leaning slightly forward and adjusting a glass prism in a wooden frame. The girl on the left is looking at her. On the table, set in a wooden frame, is a light-colored surface about the size of an A4 sheet of paper. The spectral colors shine in a horizontal strip across the surface. The girl in the middle is looking at them. With their dark wood and distinctive shapes, the pieces evoke a sense of history.
Exploring colors through recreations of Isaac Newton's original experiments.
SDTB/ Photo: C. Kirchner