The learning in a science museum and the role of the monitor

The importance attributed to Science Museums regarding to their educational role increased in the past few decades. However there is a considerable distance between the intentions of an exhibition and the perception and possible interpretation of visitors to what is shown to them. This work investigates the part played by monitors at the Estação Ciência da USP in Brazil (Science Station) when they follow visiting students groups. The process developed in the interaction with visitors aims to communicate the scientific knowledge involved in the exhibition object when the situation is permeated by social interactions that in a Vigotskian view about learning should favor the building up of scientific concepts. The focus, however, is to realize characteristics of the discourses of monitors with a view to scientific communication; Results have led us to conclude that monitors speeches are far from their intentions showing inconsistencies, and being simplistic, poor in analogies, without scientific rigor