In the first months of 2009, the International Year of Astronomy, the authors developed an educational project for middle-level students connected with the first astronomical discoveries that Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) made 400 years ago. The project included the construction of a basic telescope and the observation of the Moon. The project, if completed in full, can be accomplished in about 20 hours over the course of a month. (Contains 6 figures and 8 resources.)