Science or Sensory Illusion

Could Comenius teach physics?

Year-Round Program | designed for: Upper Primary and Secondary School Students

recommended maximum number of participants: 20 | program duration: 60 minutes

admission: 30 CZK per student (free for accompanying teachers)

What did 17th-century scientists, and Comenius himself, experience when observing physical phenomena, before anyone had correctly defined them?

PERSPECTIVE – Which perspective is correct?
We should primarily explore the world through our senses and reason. What our senses perceive depends on the angle of perspective. What object does a shadow on the wall depict? Is it a cube? A pyramid? Or something else? The answer leads to an interesting revelation.

GEOCENTRISM AND HELIOCENTRISM – Comenius vs. Copernicus
This section explains the difference between geocentrism and heliocentrism and compares the claims of Copernicus with those of Comenius. Students will explore the complex paths of planets orbiting Earth in a fascinating way. Using a laser beam and adjusting the speed of an orbit tracing a larger and smaller circle, we’ll discover whether Copernicus or Comenius was right. Students will then conduct their own experiments with trajectories and witness this phenomenon unfold directly on their paper.

LIGHT AND COLOR THEORY – Through Comenius’ perspective
Here we examine Comenius’ assertion that colors arise from a mixture of light and darkness. We’ll attempt to demonstrate the truth to students. Which light is fundamental? What colors appear when we mix different lights in the same room? And how does this connect to Isaac Newton’s major discovery? What role did an ordinary glass prism play? Can light really be split, or is it a myth?

RGB AND HUMAN VISION
How do our eyes perceive color? How many colors can the human eye detect? Do we truly see all the colors around us, or is there more to it? These questions will be answered through a hands-on experiment. Have you ever seen what you look like when illuminated by, say, a sodium lamp in complete darkness? It’s sure to spark laughter among your classmates. More importantly, we’ll explain and demonstrate the science behind it. At the end of this section, students will apply their new knowledge in an experiment.

Can You Recognize Colors?
In this part of the program, students will participate in an experiment called “Find the Truth.” Using RGB transparent filters, colorful figures lose their perceived colors, and only the most observant students will succeed in uncovering the truth.