About the project

100 Parole per la Scienza...
(Shaping science in 100 words)

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One hundred students from schools all over Italy took part in 100 Parole per la Scienza... on 17–20 January 2008, on the island of San Servolo in Venice. Workshop, ideated by venetian chemist Mariano Beltrame and science columnist Piero Bianucci and organised by Fondazione di Venezia and Fondazione per la Scuola della Compagnia di San Paolo tried to challange 16-18-year-olds to identify 100 words or phrases that they considered to represent crucial factors and concepts influencing trends in science today. Students cooperated in groups to assemble this list after an imaginative range of seminars from notable scientists [e.g., entomologist Danilo Mainardi] and thinkers [Pavan], extensive discussion and individual word searches of scientific works on the web, books and journals. Students finally presented their results in a poster session. Young italian tutors [Chemistry: Maria Antonietta Baldo - University of Venice (Venice); Astronomy: Andrea Bernagozzi – Saint Barthelemy Observatory (Aosta); Physics: Stefano Bagnasco – I.N.F.M. (Turin) and C.E.R.N. (Geneva, Switzerland); Biology: Marco Prunotto – Gaslini Children’s Hospital (Genoa) and University of Geneva (Switzerland)] helped youngsters to accomplished this task.

Here is the result, with words listed in alphabetical order: acid/base, aggregation status, analysis, antimatter, apparatus, atmosphere, atom, bacteria, Big Bang, biodiversity, bioethics, biosphere, black hole, carbon, cell, chaos, climate, cloning, DNA, ecosystem, element, electricity, electron, energy, entropy, environment, enzyme, equilibrium, error, experiment, ethology, evolution, force, fossil, galaxy, gene, gravity, greenhouse effect, H2O, heat, hydrocarbon, infinity, intelligence, Internet, life, link, light, magnetism, matter, mass, mind, metabolism, scientific method, measurement, mole, molecule, motion, mutation, natural selection, nebula, neuron, GMO (genetically modified organism), organism, osmosis, particle, periodic table, pH, photosynthesis, planet, pollution, pressure, probability, protein, pulsar, quantum, quark, radioactivity, reaction, relativity, research, reproduction, rule, science, symbiosis, systems, solution, space, species, stem cell, star, technology, temperature, theory, time, tissue, tumour, Universe, vacuum, virus, wave.

Last day is San Servolo, Piero Bianucci illustrated how to transform words into definitions. This work was accomplished online by mean of a wiki system, like the more famous Wikipedia.

This website will host in a few days full definitions revised by tutors. Definitions will be also published in a book.

For futher informations about the activity and to extend this pilote project please, refer to:

Mrs Lara De Bortoli, Fondazione per la Scuola della Compagnia di San Paolo

Mrs Giorgia Mimmo, Fondazione di Venezia