A PROPOSAL OF A PRACTICAL ACTIVITY FOR ASTRONOMY EDUCATION: DETERMINING THE LOCAL LATITUDE WITH A 3D-PRINTED SEXTANT

DETERMINAÇÃO DA LATITUDE LOCAL COM UM SEXTANTE PRODUZIDO EM UMA IMPRESSORA 3D

Abstract

The contributions that Astronomy may offer to science teaching have been pointed out in the literature for a long time. For being a highly interdisciplinary field and being present in the quotidian, Astronomy exhibits a high potential of acting as a knowledge-integrating agent. Besides, it contributes to bringing students closer to scientific investigative procedures and to observational practice. In this sense, this work describes the construction of a sextant built with the help of a 3D printer, whose conception was motivated by a practical activity carried out with students of a physics teacher’s practice course at a Brazilian public university during an introductory course of Astronomy– all files required for the reproduction of the instrument are freely available. The activity consists of determining the local latitude and the theoretical basis concerning the problem is presented in this work. An alternative approach, more suitable for basic education, is presented establishing a linkage with the BNCC. It is possible to notice that the procedures in this alternative method are in close agreement with the aims found in that document, which makes evident its didactical potential. A summary table is presented with the phases, sub-phases, and suggestions on the topics that the teacher might address.