Museums and science literacy: an approach from the recall of museum exhibits

Authors

  • María Del Carmen Sánchez Mora

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.

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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

Issue

Section

Articles
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                        Smarty_Template_Compiled.render(Object:Smarty_Internal_Template) % line  216, file: smarty_internal_template.php
                     Smarty_Internal_Template.render(false, 1) % line  232, file: smarty_internal_templatebase.php
                  Smarty_Internal_TemplateBase._execute(Object:Smarty_Internal_Template, null, 42362804174f266c598cdb32c3208fc745b92101, null, 1) % line  134, file: smarty_internal_templatebase.php
               Smarty_Internal_TemplateBase.display(frontend/pages/article.tpl, null, 42362804174f266c598cdb32c3208fc745b92101, null) % line  924, file: PKPTemplateManager.inc.php
            PKPTemplateManager.display(frontend/pages/article.tpl) % line  292, file: ArticleHandler.inc.php
         ArticleHandler.view(Array[1], Object:Request) % line  391, file: PKPRouter.inc.php
      PKPRouter._authorizeInitializeAndCallRequest(Array[2], Object:Request, Array[1], false) % line  231, file: PKPPageRouter.inc.php
   PKPPageRouter.route(Object:Request) % line  143, file: Dispatcher.inc.php
Dispatcher.dispatch(Object:Request) % line  281, file: PKPApplication.inc.php
PKPApplication.execute() % line   68, file: index.php
                                                                  ADOConnection.CacheExecute(3600, SELECT 				o.submission_id, 				MAX(s.context_id) AS journal_id, 				MAX(i.date_published) AS i_pub, 				MAX(p.date_published) A..., Array[2]) % line  132, file: DAO.inc.php
                                                               DAO.retrieveCached(SELECT 				o.submission_id, 				MAX(s.context_id) AS journal_id, 				MAX(i.date_published) AS i_pub, 				MAX(p.date_published) A..., Array[2], 3600) % line   91, file: ArticleSearchDAO.inc.php
                                                            ArticleSearchDAO.getPhraseResults(Object:Journal, Array[1], null, null, , 500, 1) % line  202, file: SubmissionSearch.inc.php
                                                         SubmissionSearch._getMergedPhraseResults(Object:Journal, Array[1], , null, null, 500, 1) % line  147, file: SubmissionSearch.inc.php
                                                      SubmissionSearch._getMergedKeywordResults(Object:Journal, Array[4], , null, null, 500, 1) % line  195, file: SubmissionSearch.inc.php
                                                   SubmissionSearch._getMergedPhraseResults(Object:Journal, Array[4], null, null, null, 500, 1) % line  147, file: SubmissionSearch.inc.php
                                                SubmissionSearch._getMergedKeywordResults(Object:Journal, Array[3], null, null, null, 500, 1) % line  133, file: SubmissionSearch.inc.php
                                             SubmissionSearch._getMergedArray(Object:Journal, Array[1], null, null) % line  264, file: SubmissionSearch.inc.php
                                          SubmissionSearch.retrieveResults(Object:Request, Object:Journal, Array[1], null, null, null, Object:DBResultRange, Array[1]) % line   92, file: RecommendBySimilarityPlugin.inc.php
                                       RecommendBySimilarityPlugin.callbackTemplateArticlePageFooter(Templates::Article::Footer::PageFooter, Array[3]) % line  107, file: HookRegistry.inc.php
                                    HookRegistry.call(Templates::Article::Footer::PageFooter, Array[3]) % line 1256, file: PKPTemplateManager.inc.php
                                 PKPTemplateManager.smartyCallHook(Array[1], Object:Smarty_Internal_Template) % line   43, file: 42362804174f266c598cdb32c3208fc745b92101^1c372c95cd85572e0fbc9a53d0323a0b229cfc78_0.app.frontendpagesarticle.tpl.php
                              content_6830833860fc84_88656546(Object:Smarty_Internal_Template) % line  123, file: smarty_template_resource_base.php
                           Smarty_Template_Resource_Base.getRenderedTemplateCode(Object:Smarty_Internal_Template) % line  114, file: smarty_template_compiled.php
                        Smarty_Template_Compiled.render(Object:Smarty_Internal_Template) % line  216, file: smarty_internal_template.php
                     Smarty_Internal_Template.render(false, 1) % line  232, file: smarty_internal_templatebase.php
                  Smarty_Internal_TemplateBase._execute(Object:Smarty_Internal_Template, null, 42362804174f266c598cdb32c3208fc745b92101, null, 1) % line  134, file: smarty_internal_templatebase.php
               Smarty_Internal_TemplateBase.display(frontend/pages/article.tpl, null, 42362804174f266c598cdb32c3208fc745b92101, null) % line  924, file: PKPTemplateManager.inc.php
            PKPTemplateManager.display(frontend/pages/article.tpl) % line  292, file: ArticleHandler.inc.php
         ArticleHandler.view(Array[1], Object:Request) % line  391, file: PKPRouter.inc.php
      PKPRouter._authorizeInitializeAndCallRequest(Array[2], Object:Request, Array[1], false) % line  231, file: PKPPageRouter.inc.php
   PKPPageRouter.route(Object:Request) % line  143, file: Dispatcher.inc.php
Dispatcher.dispatch(Object:Request) % line  281, file: PKPApplication.inc.php
PKPApplication.execute() % line   68, file: index.php