10–13 May 2026
Hotel Continental Terme
Europe/Rome timezone

COsMIC RAYS Explaining high-energy astrophysics to youngsters (who usually have too high-energies to stop and hear who explains high-energy astrophysics)

12 May 2026, 11:45
15m
Hotel Continental Terme

Hotel Continental Terme

Via Michele Mazzella, 70, 80077 Ischia NA
Talk Strumenti, contenuti e risorse per la scuola Sessione Talk martedì

Speaker

Dr Angelo Adamo (INAF-IRA Noto)

Description

A few years ago, I began—somewhat playfully—to write and illustrate comics focused on astrophysical themes. I would print them and distribute them as flyers during the public outreach events in which I took part as a fellow at the various INAF observatories where I have worked. Over time, this activity became increasingly central to my work, enriched by new experiences and a growing awareness, eventually developing into a research project on the advantages of using comics in the dissemination of the ASTRI project (https://www.astri.inaf.it/index.php/new-general-info/). In this talk, I will present some of the results obtained through a comparative study conducted—with the support of colleagues from INAF—among students from two different high schools in Palermo, Italy. For each institution, we compared the outcomes of three classes at the same level within the same school, each receiving an explanation of the same physics concept (escape velocity) through three different media: comics, video, and text. Based on the evidence gathered from these experiments carried out through the administration of a carefully designed questionnaire, prepared with the support of a sociologist and an expert in physics education, I felt encouraged to adopt a dissemination strategy centered on comics. A strategy that I later adopted myself by creating new educational graphic novels.

Destinatari principali Docenti
Parole Chiave Didattica, Divulgazione, Astronomia, Fumetto, Strategie Comunicative

Author

Dr Angelo Adamo (INAF-IRA Noto)

Co-authors

Dr Melania Del Santo (INAF-IASF Palermo) Dr Stefano Sandrelli (INAF-OA Brera) Dr Teresa Mineo (INAF-IASF Palermo) Dr Valentina La Parola (INAF-IASF Palermo)

Presentation materials

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