The visitor’s look: the Memorial Centre Carlos ChagasFilho case study

Abstract

The Memorial Centre Carlos Chagas Filho (EMCCF) is a Science Museum dedicated to the preservation and promulgation of the history of the Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho (IBCCF) and its founder, the renowned scientist Carlos Chagas Filho. Spaces such as this one are fundamental to the conservation of the institute’s memory and to university extension programs. For that reason, it is very important to create assessment frameworks aiming to examine its impacts on its different groups of visitors, understand their interests and expectations, produce knowledge and remodel itself according to the demands observed. In that sense, this paper seeks to present the results of a process of evaluation carried out with EMCCF visitors during the course of one year. This data was obtained via surveys with open-ended and close-ended questions conducted with private and state school students, with the goal of learning about the visitors’ socio-cultural backgrounds and their impressions of the experiences of their visit. For many, the trip to EMCCF was their first museum trip, which emphasizes the role of schools in providing access to places such as this one. Amongst the highlights of the experience, interactive moments stand out, indicating the importance of this type of approach to a more fully realised experience.