Niu de ciència, a space for the scientific education of children

Abstract

This paper presents a theoretical justification for the practices conducted within the space named “Niu de ciència” (“Science’s nest”), a specific space addressed to children up to 6 years old located in the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona (MCNB). In this paper a number of observations from the activity “Puc tocar?” (“Can I touch?”) specifically addressed to schools are presented. The goal is to show the consistency between the theoretical ideas underlying this project and the activities proposed to the public, by means of revising a number of basic concepts in education such as: childhood, science, knowledge, learning and other relevant aspects such as the pleasure of understanding or the role of the adult. Finally, some other reflections concerning the pedagogical and social relevance of this paper are taken into consideration and some ideas for further researches are also proposed.rther researches are also proposed.