Teenagers, Socioscientific Controversies and Museum Experiences: Mediation to Facilitate Discussions about Science and Religion

In this qualitative and exploratory study, we analyzed the visit of five groups of teenagers to the exhibition “Demasiado Humano” at the museum Espaço do Conhecimento at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. During the, the data was collected through audio and video recording, using a “subjective...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Norberto Rocha, Jessica, Massarani, Luisa, Castelfranchi, Yurij, dos Santos Amorim, Juliane
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:Brasil
Institución:Associação Brasileira de Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências (ABRAPEC)
Repositorio:Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências (Online)
Idioma:portugués
OAI Identifier:oai:periodicos.ufmg.br:article/29497
Acceso en línea:https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/rbpec/article/view/29497
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Science museums
Teenagers
Mediators
Non-formal education
Socioscientific controversies
Museu de ciências
Visitantes
Mediadores
Educação não-formal
Controvérsias sociocientíficas
Descripción
Sumario:In this qualitative and exploratory study, we analyzed the visit of five groups of teenagers to the exhibition “Demasiado Humano” at the museum Espaço do Conhecimento at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. During the, the data was collected through audio and video recording, using a “subjective camera” worn on the head of one participant from each group. A research protocol was developed and applied to understand the experiences of teenagers in science museums. We qualitatively deepened the analysis based on references that address science museums and socioscientific controversies, public communication of science and technology, and Brazilian youths’ perceptions of science and religion. Our results indicate that conversations among teenagers and museum mediators were key elements of the visits. We observed that the mediators were essential to facilitate the exchange of opinions, reflections, connections with daily life, and knowledge co-construction. The studied interactions show that, although challenging, it is possible to create museum experiences with teenagers that articulate scientific concepts in the context of socio-technical controversies. However, museums need to plan accordingly and think about the content, dynamics and mediation of the visits. It became clear that the museum had to deepen the epistemological reflection on the functioning of a controversy with the mediators.