Meio ambiente e ciências naturais, limites e possibilidades do museu científico da Universidade Federal do Ceará

Abstract

The Seara da Ciência is the Science Museum of the Federal University of Ceará. It was created in 1999 with the mission of promoting the institution's scientific and technological knowledge. However, as a Science Museum linked to a public university, it must be committed to the three pillars of Teaching, Research and Extension, which was driven to rely on Scientific Dissemination and to expand the audience it reaches far beyond university students. Furthermore, in a context of climate change, it is also the role of Science Museums to provide transformative Environmental Education that promotes regional development and appreciation. Thus, the objective of this thesis was to understand the impact of the Seara da Ciência on Scientific Dissemination, Environmental Education and Natural Science Teaching and to identify the limits and possibilities of this space for Non-Formal Education, considering that this understanding may highlight the role that Science Museums in Brazil have played in these three aspects, with emphasis on those linked to public universities in the Northeast. Regarding the methodological procedures, the research was structured based on bibliographic and documentary surveys, in addition to field experiences that provided an in- depth understanding of the reality investigated. These experiences were constituted by the participant observation technique. The methodological design followed an adaptation of the Environmental Planning and Management Phases, allowing a systematic and organized approach to data collection and analysis. The main results were that Seara da Ciência disseminates and teaches Natural Sciences in an accessible and attractive manner, seeking to draw the public's attention to scientific processes and methods related to natural and everyday phenomena. However, the space still lacks greater actions in regional development and Environmental Education, in addition to the implementation and perpetuation of the exhibition Caatinga Um Novo Olhar - Entre Nesse Clima, by the Caatinga Association. In order to improve the museum's potential and reduce its limitations in Scientific Dissemination, Science Education and Environmental Education, alternatives were proposed that would contribute to the development of actions in these three areas, in an interconnected and convergent manner. This was done through the construction of a <Summary Action Plan in Environmental Education, Science Education and Scientific Dissemination= containing ideas and initiatives for the implementation, perpetuation, search and maintenance of different aspects important to the development of the aforementioned themes in the museum.