The Visitor Centre “Marcello Ceccarelli” of the Medicina radio telescopes (BO) is the access point for schools and the public to the Institute’s instruments and research activities.
The Centre, dedicated to the memory of Marcello Ceccarelli, the father of Italian radio astronomy, is a multifunctional structure that integrates the interactive “science centre” model and the traditional historical-museum outline.
The Visitor Centre has a 98-seat conference room, equipped with a 2D and 3D projection system with 3 screens, offering a “full immersion” visual experience. The adjacent room hosts a permanent exhibition with hands-on exhibits and interactive stands, divided into thematic areas: “invisible astronomy” showing multi frequency visions of the world and the Universe, “radio waves” for getting in touch with this specific source of information, “research projects” illustrating the main activities of the Institute and “historical instrumentation” in which scientific apparatus and technologies used in radio astronomy since the 60s are exhibited.