IBN AL-HAYTHAM THE MAN WHO DISCOVERED HOW WE SEE IBN AL-HAYTHAM EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS 1 Ibn al-Haytham was a pioneering scientific thinker who made important contributions to the understanding of vision, optics and light. His methodology of investigation, in particular using experiment to verify theory, shows certain similarities to what later became known as the modern scientific method. 2 Themes and Learning Objectives The educational initiative "1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham" celebrates the legacy of Ibn al-Haytham. The global initiative was launched by 1001 Inventions in partnership with UNESCO in 2015 in celebration of the United Nations International Year of Light. The initiative engaged audiences around the world with events at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, United Nations in New York, the China Science Festival in Beijing, the Royal Society in London and in more than ten other cities around the world. Inspired by Ibn al-Haytham, exhibits, hands-on workshops, science demonstrations, films and learning materials take children on a fascinating journey into the past, sparking their interest in science while promoting integration and intercultural appreciation. This document includes a range of hands-on workshops and science demonstrations, with links to fantastic resources, for understanding the fundamental principles of light, optics and vision. The activities help engage young people to make, design and tinker while better understanding the significant contributions of Ibn al-Haytham to our understanding of both vision and light. Learning Objectives ü Inspire young people to study science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and pursue careers in science. ü Improve awareness of light, optics and vision through Ibn al-Haytham’s discoveries. ü Offer an exciting learning experience that helps celebrate diversity and promote intercultural appreciation, mutual understanding and respect. ü Engage young people to to make, design and tinker. ü Honour the shared creative, scientific and cultural achievements of pioneering men and women, of different faiths and cultures, throughout ancient civilisations. 3 Educational Workshops and Demonstrations Build Your Own Camera Obscura (ages 10 – 15) Ibn al-Haytham is credited with explaining the nature of light and vision. He carried out experiments using a dark room he called “Al-Beit Al- Muzlim”, or “camera obscura”, the device that forms the basis of photography. His experiments inside a dark room explained that light travels in straight lines. When light rays reflect off an object, they pass through a small hole and create an upside-down image on a surface parallel to the hole. Materials Required: A wooden build-it-yourself flat-pack camera obscura kit. Learning Objectives: • Learn to build your own camera obscura • Test the theory that the smaller the hole, the clearer the picture 4 Links to Ibn al-Haytham’s discoveries: • Ibn al-Haytham is credited with explaining the nature of light and vision, through using a dark room he called “Al-Beit Al-Muzlim”, or “camera obscura” in Latin; the device that forms the basis of photography. • Ibn al-Haytham proved experimentally that light travels in straight lines. • Ibn al-Haytham was the first to prove that we see because light reflects off objects and enters our eyes. Instructions: 1. Stick the plastic lens to the front plate using sticky tape. The front plate is the one with the smaller hole. 2. Assemble the outer box using sticky tape if needed to hold it together. Remember to slot the front plate in as you stick the outer box together. 3. Stick the screen to the viewing plate. The viewing plate has a large round hole in it. 4. Assemble the inner box using sticky tape to hold it together. Remember to slot the viewing plate in as you stick the inner plate together. 5. Carefully slot the inner box inside the outer box. Make sure the viewing screen is towards the front of the camera obscura. What Happens? Now your camera obscura is made and ready to use. Point it towards a brightly lit area and look through the viewing screen from the back. Now carefully slide the inner box backwards and forwards to get a clearer focus of the image you are looking at. Details and Further Information: Camera Obscura kit by 1001 Inventions: http://inv.ecgroup.net/c-9-all-products.aspx 5 Cow Eye Dissection Demonstration (ages 18+) We see the world because light enters our eyes. Our eye uses that light to make an image of the world—just as a camera uses light to make a photograph. In this fascinating workshop we will dissect a cow’s eye to demonstrate how every layer of an eye works. A cow eye is very similar to a human eye and this demonstration offers a deep understanding about sight and how the eye works through this step-by-step dissection process. Materials Required: • Cow Eye • White Tunic • Scissors • Scalpel • Dissecting Tray • Rubber Gloves • Goggles • Cleaning Materials • Anti-bacterial Hand Wash Learning Objectives: • Understand the anatomy and physiology of the cow’s eye • Appreciate the functions of each layer and the structure of the cow’s eye • Observe the similarities and differences between a cow’s eye and a human eye • Understand how vision works 6 Links to Ibn al-Haytham’s discoveries: • Ibn al-Haytham was the first to discover how we can see and prove that we see because the light reflects off objects and enters our eyes. • Ibn al-Haytham believed that our eyes are connected to the brain, which has a role in what we see. • Ibn al-Haytham laid out new ideas about light, colour and vision in his Book of Optics. Ibn al-Haytham’s writings influenced mathematician Kamal al-Din al-Farisi, who drew the structure of the human eye based on Ibn al-Haytham’s ideas. Instructions: 1. The white part is the sclera, the outer covering of the eyeball. The blue is the cornea, which starts as a clear colour but becomes cloudy after death. 2. Cut away the fat and muscle. Without moving our heads, we can look up, look down and look all around. Six muscles attached to our eyeball move our eye so that we can look in different directions. But cows and sheep have only four muscles that control their eyes. They can look up, down, left, and right, but they can’t roll their eyes like we can. 3. Use a scalpel to make an incision in the cornea. Cut until the clear liquid under the cornea is released. That clear liquid is the aqueous humor. It’s made of mostly of water and keeps the shape of the cornea. There’s also fat surrounding our eyeballs to keep them from bumping up against the bone and getting bruised. 4. Use the scalpel to make an incision through the sclera in the middle of the eye. 7 5. Use your scissors to cut around the middle of the eye, cutting the eye in half. You’ll end up with two pieces. At the front will be the cornea. In this eye dissection, we cut away all the fat and muscle so that we can see the eyeball. A clear, tough surface called the cornea covers the front of our eye and protects it. If we make a cut in the cornea, a clear fluid oozes out. That’s the aqueous humour, which is made of protein and water. The aqueous humour helps give the eye its shape. 6. The next step is to pull out the iris, which is between the cornea and the lens. It may be stuck to the cornea or it may have stayed with the back of the eye. Find the iris and pull it out. It should come out in one piece. You can see that there’s a hole in the center of the iris. That’s the pupil, the hole that lets light into the eye. The iris contracts or expands to change the size of the pupil. In dim light, the pupil opens wide to let light in. In bright light, the pupil shrinks to block some of the light. 7. Now you want to remove the lens. It’s a clear lump about the size and shape of a squashed marble. If you look at your eye in a mirror, you will see a coloured circle with a black spot in the middle. The coloured circle is the iris. The black spot in the middle of the iris is the pupil, a hole through the iris that lets light into the eye. In dim light, the pupil opens wide, letting lots of light in. 8. Here is the back half of the eye. With the cornea and the iris out of the way, you can see the lens. It looks grey in this photo, but it’s really clear. The clear goo around the lens is the vitreous humour. The eyeball stays round because it’s filled with this thick, gooey substance. 9. Put the lens down on a newspaper and look through it at the words on the page. What do you see? 8 The words look larger as you see them through a magnifying glass. You can use the lens to make an image, a picture of the world. That’s what the lens does in your eye. It focuses a picture of the world on your retina. 10. Now take a look at the rest of the eye. If the vitreous humor is still in the eyeball, empty it out. On the inside of the back half of the eyeball, you can see some blood vessels that are part of a thin fleshy film.