VilaWeb - Diari escola: 'Origins': the Universe, Earth, Life and Humanity

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dijous, 18 de juliol de 2024

'Origins': the Universe, Earth, Life and Humanity

> The Big Bang and the Expansion of the Universe

> The Source of Extraterrestrial Life?

> Man is Not Alone

dijous, 8 de març de 2007

Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? How did the Universe begin? How did the Earth begin? And life? Enquiring by nature the human species has always looked for answers to these big questions, questions that have stimulated scientific progress and led to some great discoveries. These very questions form the thread that runs through 'Orígens', an exhibition that is open for the whole year at the Museum of Natural Science in Barcelona.

This informative exhibition explains the origin of the Universe, of Earth, of life and humanity based on the most up-to-date research. The exhibition avoids anthropocentrism, a philosophical concept that considers man as being at the centre and as the final aim of all things. Since, ultimately, it's impossible to fully understand the origin of humanity if we haven't first understood the origin of life and of our planet, which is only a miniscule part of the Universe.

'Orígens' comprises four blocks or areas, illustrated with different objects made by humans: 'The Origin of the Origins', focusing on the beginning of the Universe; 'A Scene: the Little Blue Planet', that reminds us that Earth is a dynamic planet that is constantly changing; 'A Leading Actress: Life', which investigates the question of whether life originated from extraterrestrial matter; and 'Man: the Cultural Primate', which looks at the things that distinguish humanity.

The exhibition is part of Barcelona Science 2007 the main aim of which is to bring scientific culture closer to people.

+ Webs relacionades dins Nosaltres.Cat: Ciència.

The Big Bang and the Expansion of the Universe

+ The exhibition explains the origin of the Universe, of Earth, of life and humanity.

In an audiovisual introduction, 'Orígens' explains the most widely accepted theory about the origin of the Universe: the Big Bang theory. According to the theory, the Universe began with the explosion of an incredibly small nucleus of extreme density and heat that contained all the material and energy that exists. As a result of this initial explosion, the Universe began a process of expansion which is still continuing today. But how is it that it is still expanding if gravity means that all bodies mutually attract each other? The answer would appear to lie in the existence of an element that helps its expansion: dark energy.

The Source of Extraterrestrial Life?

+ Science has identified a good twenty or so meteorites from the planet Mars.

As we mentioned earlier, 'Orígens' also raises the question of the appearance of life on Earth. As we have not yet got to the bottom of this question, we cannot rule out the theory that the origin of all life has an external element to it, such as a meteorite or a comet which brought organic material to Earth. We should remember that we have identified a good twenty or so meteorites from the planet Mars meaning that it's quite possible that the origins of life are Martian. But it is just a theory, like many others.

Man is Not Alone

+ 'Orígens' avoids anthropocentrism.

Man has always claimed to have exceptional qualities, features that set it apart. It probably does possess such distinguishing features but this shouldn't lead to anthropocentrism, especially if we consider that the most recent ethological studies have shown that some abilities which were considered until very recently to be exclusively human are, in fact, shared by other animals. With this as a starting point, 'Orígens' invites visitors to look for things that differentiate us, highlighting a few of them: our artistic vein, and our highly complex language and moral codes, etc.

MATERIALS

'Orígens'
Format:Web
Exposició del Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, que explica didàcticament la gènesi de l'Univers, de la Terra, de la vida i de la humanitat d'acord amb les recerques més actuals.
Barcelona Ciència 2007
Format:Web
Es proposa de difondre la cultura científica entre els ciutadans. Programa d'activitats.
Astronomia Educativa
Format:Web
Pàgina sobre el sistema solar i l'Univers sencer.
Becoming Human
Format:Web
Documental interactiu de l'evolució humana.
Parlem d'evolució
Format:Web
Materials didàctics adreçats a l'alumnat de secundària.
Que som sols, a l'Univers?
Format:Web
L'opinió de l'Agència Espacial Europea.
Science
Format:Web
Pàgina de la BBC adreçada al jovent. Informació i qüestionaris sobre biologia, física i química.

QUE HO SABIES?

'Orígens' covers the achievements of the great thinkers such as Galileo, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Gregor Mendel and Albert Einstein.
The exhibition also provides an approximate date for the start of the Universe (14 billion years ago), of the Earth (4.56 billion years ago), of life (between 3.5 and 4.1 billion years ago) and of man (6 million years ago).
Dark energy, responsible for the continuing expansion of the Universe, makes up more than 70% of the Universe.