SCIENCE THEATRE

The Science Theatre is a two-section museum: Natural Science Museum and Planetarium.

The Natural Science Museum offers visitors a journey into the Earth among rock samples, minerals and fossils - which can be observed and touched - and amazing volcanic eruptions.

At the entrance, a video depicts how planet Earth originated and evolved.

The exhibition hall includes the Mineralogy, Palaeontology, Ornithology and Entomology collections.

At the heart of the nature hall, visitors can find both a diorama, recreating the river environment of the Alessandria province, and a see-through cylinder, displaying butterfly specimens from all over the world.

The Digistar Lite Planetarium is located in a circular hall surmounted by a fixed dome the celestial vault is projected on, enabling visitors to:

• identify the constellations observable at different times of the year;
• gain a deeper knowledge of celestial motions and cycles;
• to delve into complex topics such as the evolution of stars and galaxies.

Beneath the Planetarium's dome, images and animations create an environment in which the viewer feels immersed in the universe.

The hall has a capacity of 30 seats approximately.

A wide range of astronomical topics are covered in the astronomy teaching room.

Planet motion, eclipses and tides can be simulated.

An overview of spacecraft journeys from the 1950s to the present day is also available.

No architectural barriers.

Paleontology

The Palaeontology collection consists of quite a number of animal and plant fossils unearthed in the Alessandria area and the Po Valley, including the fossil molar of a mammoth, found a few kilometres from Alessandria.

Mineralogy and Petrography

The Mineral collection consists mostly of artefacts from the Alessandria area.
It includes a large number of quartz, amethysts, garnets, calcites, fluorites.
A showcase is especially dedicated to crystals.
A smaller hall hosts collections of magmatic, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks representing the three types of genesis.
An entire section is dedicated to volcanoes.

Zoology

A large showcase, taking up a whole wall of the museum, is dedicated to the ornithology collection.
It encompasses birds belonging to a range of families, including nocturnal and diurnal birds of prey, passerines and terrestrials.

Some small mammals from the Alessandria area are also on display.

The museum library offers on consultation:

• scientific journals;
• publications for the general public concerning the Alessandria area;
• informative material about nearby museums and tourist facilities.

The Science Theatre provides:

• guided tours, educational programmes, workshops, reading sessions for schools (opening by appointment);
• meetings and workshops geared towards families;
• lectures and talks with institutions and associations regarding environmental issues;
• Astronomy basics courses, organised by the Associazione Astrofili Galileo;
• activities to be performed under the Planetarium dome during the Science Theatre Sundays.