The Stars of Florence: Galileo's Glass
Narrator: The year is 1610. We are on a high, stone balcony in Florence, Italy, overlooking the terracotta roofs of the city. The night sky is clear and black, studded with countless brilliant stars. Standing on the balcony is Galileo Galilei, a mathematician and philosopher of growing renown. Beside him is a wooden tripod supporting a long, leather-bound tubeāhis newly improved spyglass, which he calls a telescope. Joining him are Father Orazio, a traditional scholar deeply devoted to ancient philosophies, and Lady Chiara, a curious noblewoman who supports the pursuit of new knowledge.
Galileo: (Adjusting the brass fittings on his telescope) Adjust your expectations, my friends. What you are about to see through this tube of glass and lead will challenge everything you have been taught about the cosmos. The heavens are not as perfect and unchanging as the ancient books claim.
Father Orazio: (Crossing his arms skeptically) Galileo, you speak with great boldness. For two thousand years, the teachings of Aristotle have guided our understanding of the universe. He proved that the heavens are perfect, immutable, and that the Earth is the stationary center of all creation. How can a mere toy of curved glass refute the wisdom of the ages?
- Immutable:
- Unchanging over time or unable to be changed.
- Ether:
- According to ancient philosophers, a rare, perfect substance that made up the celestial bodies.
- Optics:
- The branch of science that deals with the behavior and properties of light and vision.
- Telescope:
- An optical instrument designed to make distant objects appear nearer, containing an arrangement of lenses.
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- 1In what year and city does this readers' theater take place?
- 2Which three characters speak in the play besides the Narrator?
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About this reader's theater passage for Middle School
āThe Stars of Florence: Galileo's Glassā is a reader's theater reading passage about Galileo Galilei and the Telescope, written for Middle School. It takes about 5 minutes to read (725 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.