In this paper we present the Sky on Earth project funded in 2008 by the Italian Ministry of
Instruction, Research and University, inside its annual public outreach education program. The
project’s goal was to realise a stable and open-access astronomical garden, where children, teachers
and citizens could be engaged in investigations about day and night sky phenomena. The project was
designed taking into account our prior researches in formal and informal astronomy education. It was
realised in the garden of GiocheriaLaboratori, an out-of-school K-6 educational structure of Sesto
San Giovanni municipality (near Milan, Italy). Setting and tools were designed with the help of some
students of the ‘Altiero Spinelli’ vocational school and their science and technology teachers.
Since its installation, the astronomical garden has been used in workshops and open-days, teachers’
preparation courses and research experiences. We might conclude that the Sky on Earth project r…