IJSE has come to be known for publishing a certain style of papers, often involving empirical enquiry. Other journals, and particularly those published in languages other than English, have different styles. In order to introduce readers of IJSE to distinguished work first published elsewhere which they may not have encountered, the editors of other journals in the field of science education are being invited to nominate a paper which they view both as typical in style and excellent in quality. In the first of this occasional series, Professor Silvia Pugliese Jona, Editor of La Fisica nella Scuola, produced in Italy, has suggested ‘La Bilancetta del Signor Galileo Galilei’ by Professor Gianni Bonera, first published in 1994, 27(4), 177‐80. The translation is by Mr Henryk Baranski.