About the event
Join us on 26 October for a celebration of Johannes Hevelius, one of the great scientists of the 17th century, who drew the first detailed map of the Moon.
A pioneering astronomer and brewer from Gdansk in Poland, Hevelius built his own instruments and observatory, and his lunar atlas remained unrivalled for generations.
The Bodleian Libraries is hosting a special display of Hevelius's work, as well as family activities, workshops and talks, in collaboration with the Oxford Polish Association, the Polish Cultural Institute and others.
This event is presented in collaboration with IF Oxford Science + Ideas Festival, part of the festival’s annual programme to spark curiosity and engagement with science and ideas.
Explore the Moon with Hevelius’s Selenographia
Blackwell Hall (Transept) | 9.00 – 16.00
Come and discover a rare treasure of early astronomy: the original 1647 edition of Selenographia, sive Lunae descriptio ('Selenography, or A Description of the Moon') by Johannes Hevelius. This landmark work features the first detailed map of the Moon, meticulously drawn from Hevelius’s own telescopic observations.
The original volume will be on display in the Transept in Blackwell Hall. (You can also see a full digital version online.) Come and explore the Moon as it was first seen through the eyes of a 17th-century stargazer.
Children's workshops
Blackwell Hall | 10.30 – 13.30
Take part in activities inspired by Polish ceramic patterns, stars, water and the natural world.
For ages 5+.
Please note: all children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
A Ripple Through Time: Ceramics Then and Now
Sir Victor Blank Lecture Theatre | 14.00 – 16.00
This talk brings together contemporary ceramic practice and cognitive archaeology to explore how clay, touch and other material encounters shape human thought, creativity and our relationship with the environment. Taking as a starting point Patanowska’s The Ripple Effect, presented at the V&A Museum, it will connect contemporary art with Professor Malafouris’s Material Engagement Theory. The discussion will also acknowledge Poland’s ceramic traditions, including Bolesławiec and Ćmielów.
Alicja Patanowska is a sculptor, visual artist, designer and potter based in Poland. Professor Lambros Malafouris is Professor of Cognitive and Anthropological Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford, and Tutorial Fellow at Hertford College, Oxford. The discussion will be moderated by Dr Joanna Bagniewska, environmental scientist and science communicator, University of Oxford.
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