Medieval Life Spotlight: An Astrolabe How-To | Digital DIY for Families

Tools are all around us, and we can use them to learn about and interact with the world around us.


During Medieval times, Muslim astronomers used the handheld astrolabe as a version of an early smartphone to plot and predict everything from horoscopes, to the timing of sunrise and sunset, to navigation using the night sky. Hear more about the global origins of this analog device while building and learning how to use an astrolabe of your very own. Curator Dot Porter will finish the program with a show and tell of relevant manuscripts from Philadelphia collections. This program is inspired by the Free Library of Philadelphia's Medieval Life exhibit, highlights online at freelibrary.org/medievallife

About our presenter:

Dr. Kristine Larsen is a professor in the Geological Sciences Department of Central Connecticut State University, with interests in the cultural and religious importance of the astrolabe, and the intersections between science and society -- including gender and the history of astronomy.


This program was recorded live December 28, 2020.