The educational role of a scientific museum: A case study

The purpose of this work is to present an ongoing physics education project based at the Museum of Physics of the University of Turin, whose goal is studying the educational significance of the history of physics. The major targets of this project are: compiling a census of the collections of instrument of historical-scientific interest preserved by a significant sample of schools in Piedmont, Italy; designing experimental activities rooted in the development of the physics instruments displayed in the Museum and in the school collections detected; finally, testing the efficacy of these activities.