A divulgação científica no combate ao negacionismo científico: contribuições de uma feira de ciências

Abstract

We live in a time when access to information and news is instantaneous and, while it brings great benefits to society on the one hand, it can also lead us to fanciful and dangerous interpretations on the other. Easily and simply obtaining a controlled medicine bullet and having online access to a miracle recipe for the cure of a disease are moves that lead us to reflect on this issue. Access to the world of information in a simple and easy way does not always translate into knowledge, and we need to be careful with disinformation and fake news, including the scientific ones that deny Science and its construction - a movement that translates the growing scientific denial, leading to conspiracy and the distancing of science from the population. In this context, the school, as a formal environment of education, cannot, alone, deal with the incommensurable number of scientific information that is presented in the contemporary, so we find in non-formal education, through the Scientific Disclosure (SD), an ally in this process. SD presents itself as a strategy that can help in the fight against deniationism, building scientific knowledge through a language accessible and understandable to all. We understand science fairs as a SD space that has traditionally been developed by schools. This research seeks through the planning and conduct of a science fair, with controversial themes, to investigate how this space can contribute to problematizing and combating the deniationism of science. So, in a participatory way, we investigated the contribution of a science fair at a public school in the city of Uberaba/MG in the fight against deniationism of science. The research started from three interconnected moments: the preparation of teachers, the construction of a science fair and the development of activities in the school, by students of the final years of Elementary Education. The data built throughout the research were organized for analysis from the Content Analysis, proposed by Laurence Bardin, evidencing here a fourth moment, with the construction of Units of Contexts and Category analysis, related discussions about the fair by teachers, in the classroom, with students. The results analysed show that the science fair is an excellent place to work on scientific research, autonomy and the protagonism of students and, when the research and debates permeate the social context - in this research represented by controversial socio-scientific topics - they are able to lead to reasoned reflections and the construction of solid and coherent arguments based on science. Thus, the possibility of discussions on controversial issues enables the construction of more critical and reflective citizens.