Contribution of Brazilian Science Museums to Geological Education

Abstract

Brazilian Museums have begun to under go a transformation from a transitional role of acquisition, ownership, and static display of material to a more educational role. This educational role however, is closely linked to formal educational methodologies that include authoritarian attitudes, routine activities, and displays of static materials and summative questions that are, in fact, really tests. These museums are mostly located in the larger cities associated with research-oriented colleges and universities and cater mostly to precollege students. There is a movement to change the focus of museums from a “therapeutic” and “promotional” role to a “consciousness-raising” role in which the goal is to promote the development of community. In recent years the Campinas Dynamic Science Museum has begun implementing discovery-oriented activities including field trips, sample collecting, and sample examination in the museum. These activities constitute a more active role for informal education institutions, a r...