Museums and science literacy: an approach from the recall of museum exhibits
Abstract
Nowadays it is considered that science museums are educative spaces that promote science literacy among their visitors. This includes the understanding and use of certain scientific concepts, the development of certain skills related with a scientific thinking, and some attitudes around the sciences. In this study it is supposed that memories or recalls conserved by visitors some time after the visit, could be a way to approach to the knowledge of some aspects of the scientific literacy obtained by visitors. Nevertheless, considering the numerous studies done about the educational role of museums which show that the experience lived by their visitors is absolutely personal, it seems very difficult to register a completely idiosyncratic process. Besides, it has been demonstrated elsewhere that the personal experience that occurs in museums is highly related with prior knowledge and visitor’s interests. In this article the recalls generated in expertise visitors and lay ones, were compared and analyzed six months and a year after the visit. Considering the difficulties to access visitor’s recalls and following the results of other already published studies, an special survey was developed to yield the recalls generated in lay and expert visitors after interacting with a science exhibition. The obtained results coincide with some others where it is possible to note that lay visitors have a main recall on objects whereas experts have more semantic memories after the experience. But lay visitors remember better the physical interaction with exhibits and their emotional memories are wider than those of the experts. This opens the discussion in the field of scientific museography about how to approach lay and expertise visitors.Downloads
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Published
2011-12-29
How to Cite
Sánchez Mora, M. D. C. (2011). Museums and science literacy: an approach from the recall of museum exhibits. Museologia E Patrimônio, 4(1), 03–27. Retrieved from https://revistamuseologiaepatrimonio.mast.br/index.php/ppgpmus/article/view/137
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