A importância dos museus de geociências brasileiros para a preservação do patrimônio e disseminação do conhecimento geológico

Abstract

Among the functions recognised and attributed to what is defined as a "museum" are: preserving, studying and exhibiting collections. These functions designate them as important places both for publicizing science (and/or other areas of knowledge) and for preserving the collections kept there. For the Geosciences, given the fact that they are directly linked to the Earth and consequently to its history and intrinsic value, museums become even more relevant. Although there have been actions around the world aimed at Geoconservation since the end of the 19th century, as well as specific legislation in force on the subject, in a country like Brazil, which is going through a wave of denialism, preserving geological heritage and transmitting the knowledge of its collection is essential to clear up the misinformation generated by the antiscientific movement. Thus, although there are initiatives that gather information on Museums and Science Centers in the country in general, covering various related typologies, there are none specifically focused on the Geosciences, which exposes the need to quantify and qualify museums in these areas in the country. This dissertation aims to carry out a survey of brazilian geoscience museums and characterize their collections and social aspects through the “Brazilian Geoscience Museums” project and create a virtual guide with the available information. Government data from February 2024 shows that 3905 spaces are registered in the country on the Museusbr Platform of the Brazilian Institute of Museums. Of this total, 444 are classified under the collection theme “Exact, Earth, Biological and Health Sciences”, which includes Geosciences. However, the project's database currently records 225 Researched Museums. Of these, 30 museums are not registered on the federal government's platforms, which exposes an inaccuracy in the official information. Other data can be analyzed using the project's results: in terms of geographical distribution, the Northeast, Southeast and South regions have the highest number of national geoscientific museum spaces, totalling around 80.44%; in addition, there is a high rate of indication of palaeontological and geological collections, as well as a trend towards public museums. The detailed information from the cataloging allows us to reflect on how museums act as mediators of geological knowledge when they open their doors to the public, understanding the importance of geoscience museums in Brazil in preserving elements of geopatrimony and also in disseminating geoscientific knowledge in the country through the virtual guide in website format Brazilian Geoscience Museums”.