A group from Nicolae Bălcescu Youth Cultural Center visited AIRA

Members of „Nicolae Bălcescu” Youth Cultural Center and a group of 18 students from several Bucharest high schools were welcomed today at the Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy. Their visit was joined by the B1 TV crew which made interviews and a news report. During the event, the AIRA team was represented by our Director, Dr. Mirel Bîrlan, and by historian Sorin Marin. The astronomy promoter Daniel Berteșteanu from Bucharest Astroclub, was also invited and took part in the event.

The participants had the chance to attend several science presentations as they observed the Sun through a refractory telescope using an H-alpha filter, astronomy lessons in the Planetarium Hall and didactic laboratory demonstrations with projector support and various specialized hardware and software.

All these were followed by a relaxing guided tour which included: the Ecuatorial Dome - where it is preserved the largest refractory telescope in Romania, the marvels of Meridian Hall, Bosianu House, Sun Dome, and Telescope Building. While walking towards Bosianu House, a neo-gothic architectural jewell, the students learned they were walking on the footsteps of Prince Alexander John Cuza, who was present in the same house before the 1859 Union, and who later became the first monarch of modern Romania. They have also been told about Constantin Bosianu, Doctor in Law at Sorbonne University in Paris and the owner of the house and its surrounding property for a few decades in the XIX^thC., who dreamed with his mind, believed with his heart, and worked day after day for the unification of the Romanian Principalities Moldova and Walachia and the creation of modern Romania.

Published on: Aug 11, 2021