It seems to us that in Science and Technology museums, this division is, even today, very sharp, while the

historical
objects remain mostly under the domain of specialists, reflecting the importance of studying different ways to present
this kind of object to the non- specialists. The present research focuses on the study of the educational possibilities of historical scientific instruments of a science museum collection. In this investigation the main question was:
What is the impact of the historical value of a scientific instrument with the public that visit a science museum? The
analysis promoted by this study was founded mainly in the Kristof Pomiam`s concept of semiforo and in the Walter
Benjamins concept of aura. The problem was discussed from the following questions: What are the limitations and
possibilities of these instruments as an educational resource able to motivate museum visitors to expand its scientific
culture? What are the meanings (emotional, aesthetic, cognitive) attributed by the visitors to the scientific instrument?
Having the objective of answering these questions, we chose to interview the general public that had participated in
a guided visit at the museum, in order to raise their views, opinions and considerations about a scientific instrument
of the museums collection. Semi-structured interviews were held with 11 groups of general visitors and in total 34
people were interviewed. The empirical basis of this study used as a method the analysis of data the Discourse of the
Collective Subject, . The results showed that the recognition by the public of the historical value of the object and of
its authenticity makes them define their contacts with it as a differentiated experience in the field of emotions and
feelings, which makes that experience more than a different one, but also an interesting one, since the historical value
of the object is confirmed as a factor which increases the museum visitors` curiosity. The data shows the relevance
of the presentation of historical scientific instruments in science museums, in view of its important potential for the
promotion of intrinsic motivation, given the emotional impact, aesthetic and cognitive development that it has on visitors
who were able to contemplate it during a guided visit; as well as the potential of these objects as relevant resources
in promoting a critical interpretation about science and its relationship with contemporary society.

Key words scientific instruments, historical objects, science education, science museum, non formal education,
History of Science.
113

CRISTINA DE AMORIM MACHADO

O papel da traduo na transmisso da cincia: o caso do Tetrabiblos de Ptolomeu. Tese
(Doutorado em Letras) Departamento de Letras, Pontifcia Universidade Catlica do Rio
de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), 2010.
RESUMO Esta tese sobre a histria das tradues de uma das obras fundadoras do cnone astrolgico helenstico: o Tetrabiblos, escrito em grego, por Claudio Ptolomeu, na Alexandria do sculo II. Em geral, imagina-se que
uma cincia seja transmitida intacta ao longo do tempo, o que legitimaria a autoridade dos textos cientficos e de seus
autores. traduo, quando lembrada, cabe um papel secundrio na histria da cincia; no entanto a difuso da cincia
sempre implica traduo ou algum tipo de reescrita. Por tudo isso, a hiptese aqui proposta de que o Tetrabiblos, como
todos os livros cientficos antigos que nos alcanaram, caracteriza-se por sua peregrinao e constante transformao
no tempo e no espao, o que revela a sua historicidade. Autores e textos cientficos so, pois, constructos histricos,
e o que nos resta desses livros so seus rastros, as suas reescritas, algumas mais, outras menos prximas tanto
lingustica quanto espao-temporalmente das suas escritas originais. Nessas andanas por vrias lnguas e culturas,
constituiu-se aquilo que podemos chamar de tradio textual manuscrita e impressa da obra de Ptolomeu. a essa
tradio cambiante que aqui nos remetemos para historiar as origens e os processos de transmisso do Tetrabiblos
desde a Antiguidade at o Renascimento. Trata-se, portanto, de uma biografia da obra astrolgica de Ptolomeu, considerando-se o amlgama entre astrologia e astronomia na poca em questo e a ampla circulao desse saber no
perodo helenstico, no mundo rabe e no contexto ibrico, sobretudo a sua repercusso na expanso martima.
Palavras-chave Tetrabiblos, Ptolomeu, traduo, Astrologia, Histria da Cincia.
Revista Brasileira de Histria da Cincia, Rio de Janeiro, v. 2, n. 1, p. 148-150, jan | jun 2009

ABSTRACT This dissertation presents a history of translations of a founding text from the Hellenistic astrological
canon: Ptolemys Tetrabiblos, which was written in Greek, in Alexandria (2nd century A.D.). It is generally assumed that
science is transmitted intact along the years, thus grounding the authority of scientific texts and their authors. Translation
is rarely remembered in the history of science, and when it happens, it usually plays a secondary role. Nevertheless the
transmission of science always implies some kind of rewriting. Therefore the hypothesis here proposed is that Tetrabiblos, as all ancient scientific books which reached us, has pilgrimaged and constantly changed through time and space,
revealing its historical feature. Scientific authors and texts are historical constructs, and the latter are handed down in
form of rewritten vestiges, linguistically or spatiotemporally separated from the original writings to some extent. That
pilgrimage through several languages and cultures has set up what we can call Ptolemys manuscripted and printed
textual tradition. It is to this movable tradition that we will refer to historicize the origins and processes of transmission
of Tetrabiblos from Antiquity to Renaissance. It is a biography of Ptolemys astrological book, regarding the amalgam
between astrology and astronomy at that time and the extensive circulation of this knowledge across the Hellenistic
period, the Arabic world and the Iberical context, especially its repercussion during the maritime expansionism.

Key words Tetrabiblos, Ptolemy, translation, Astrology, History of Science.

MRCIA CRISTINA ALVES

O ecletismo na construo do novo Observatrio Nacional no incio do sculo XX.
Dissertao (Mestrado em Histria e Crtica da Arte) Escola de Belas Artes, PPGAV,
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 2009.
114

RESUMO O surgimento do estilo ecltico como movimento tem incio na Europa no sculo XVIII, caracterizandose, de maneira geral, pela adoo de algumas formas clssicas aliadas a elementos modernos. Este trabalho pretende
apresentar e fazer um estudo do projeto arquitetnico adotado para o novo Observatrio Nacional do Rio de Janeiro
no incio do sculo XX, a partir de conceitos como local, funo, programa e tipologia, dentro do contexto geral do
ecletismo. Alm disso, pretende-se estabelecer as relaes entre o Observatrio Nacional e os demais observatrios
construdos na Europa e nos Estados Unidos entre os sculos XIX e XX com a mesma finalidade e com princpios cientficos contemplados pela astronomia.
Palavras-chave ecletismo, tipologia, observatrios, Rio de Janeiro, sculo XIX.
ABSTRACT The sprouting of the eclectic style, as a movement that initiates in Europe during the XVIIIth century,
characterized by the adoption of some classic forms engaged with modern elements. The work intends to present, and
propose a study of the architectures project adopted for the new National Observatory of Rio de Janeiro at the beginning
of the XXth century, from concepts such as: place, function, program, tipology, inside a general context of the ecleticism
and still to establish, the relations between the National Observatory and others obsevatories constructed in Europe and
United States, during the XIX an XX centuries, with the same scientific principles contemplated by astronomy.

Key words Ecleticism, tipology, observatories, 19th century.

Revista Brasileira de Histria da Cincia, Rio de Janeiro, v. 2, n. 1, p. 148-150, jan | jun 2009