ATIVIDADES LÚDICAS NO ENSINO DE CIÊNCIAS: UMA ADAPTAÇÃO METODOLÓGICA ATRAVÉS DO TEATRO PARA COMUNICAR A CIÊNCIA A TODOS

Estamos vivendo a primeira década do século XXI sem que tenhamos conseguido socializar o conhecimento. Para suprir esse desequilíbrio, surge a divulgação científica, uma maneira de comunicar a ciência, além do espaço formal da educação. Nesta perspectiva este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar que por meio do teatro, é possível ensinar e divulgar a ciência de forma mais envolvente, interativa e prazerosa. Assim trazemos um relato de duas experiências com este objeto de pesquisa ao longo dos anos de 2004 e 2005: “A trupe da magia” e “O ciclo da água”, em alguns eventos de divulgação científica. Concluímos que o teatro pode ser o ponto de partida para despertar o interesse, divulgar informações e popularizar de forma lúdica o conhecimento das ciências, possibilitando uma melhor “leitura de mundo” e consequentemente diminuindo o analfabetismo científico ainda existente em nosso país. Embora sejamos conscientes da complexidade que este tipo de trabalho demanda, considerando os aspectos sociais e didáticos envolvidos na divulgação científica, acreditamos que os resultados são compensadores.Palavras-chave: divulgação; ciência; arte.  We are living the first decade of the XXI century without begin successfully socialized the knowledge. To remedy this problem, the scientific divulgation appears as a way to communicate the science, beyond the formal educational space. On this perspective, this work has the goal of showing that we can teach and disseminate the science in a more engaging, interactive and pleasant way making use of the theater. Thus we report two experiments in this object of research which occurred during the years 2004 and 2005 in some events of scientific divulgation: “The troupe of magic” and “The cycle of water”. We conclude that the theater can be the point of departure to attract the interest, disseminating information and popularize the knowledge of science, by playful activities enabling a better “reading of the world” and consequently decreasing the scientific illiteracy that still exists in our country. In although the complexity that this type of work demands, considering the social and didactic aspects involved in scientific divulgation, we believe that our results are rewarding.Key-words: divulgation; science; art

Solidification of supercooled Al-Si alloys by flow technique.

O presente trabalho apresenta o estudo da solidificação de ligas do sistema Al-Si, super-resfriadas pela técnica de Fusão em Presença de Fluxo. Os resultados mostraram que a técnica de fluxo foi eficiente na obtenção de altos níveis de super-resfriamento para ligas do sistema Al-Si. Tanto para as ligas hipo-eutéticas quanto para as ligas hiper-eutéticas, um aumento do super-resfriamento foi observado, quando as amostras foram solidificadas envolto com o B2O3 como fluxo. Isto comprova que o fluxo atuou na eliminação ou redução de heterogeneidades presentes nas amostras e/ou evitando o contato das amostras com as paredes do cadinho. Contudo, apesar do aumento de AT ser bastante significativo, da ordem de 20K, não foram observadas mudanças significativas nas microestruturas dessas ligas.Isto, provavelmente, porque não se atingiu o nível de super-resfriamento critico para as ligas em estudo.Os resultados mostraram que o aumento de soluto nas ligas hipo-eutéticas provocou uma diminuição no nível de super-resfriamento, provavelmente porque o Si tem crescimento facetado, o que fornece baixos ângulos de molhamento.This work aimed at the study of the solidification Al-Si alloys by the fluxing technique.The results showed that technique was efficient to obtain large undercoolings. The increasing undercooling was observed when the alloys used B2O3 as flux. The flux B2O3, probably, acted in removed impurities or changed structures and make them less active, and/or isolated the molten metal from contact with the crucible and atmosphere.I lowevcr, a morphological change did not occur in spit of increasing of undercooling. That is probable of the critical undercooling unattainable in the alloys.The results showed that the increasing of the solute for hypoeuteclic alloys decreased the level undercooling, probably of the solute Si has growth faceted

Astronomia em sala de aula: do estudo teórico para uma proposta usando o teatro de fantoches

Existem diversas discussões a respeito da inserção de conteúdos de Astronomia na educação básica, mas sabemos que as lacunas deixadas e existentes quanto à formação de professores, bem como a ausência de materiais didáticos e recursos pedagógicos, contribuem para que isso não se efetive. Nesse sentido, com o intuito de contribuir para a superação dessa lacuna no campo prático e ampliar as alternativas metodológicas e os instrumentos para o ensino de Física, trazemos neste artigo o resultado de uma pesquisa realizada a partir de uma proposta para se trabalhar Astronomia por meio do teatro de fantoches. O roteiro dramatúrgico surge de uma releitura da peça sobre a vida de Galileu Galilei escrita por Bertolt Brecht e a pergunta a ser respondida nesta pesquisa foi: “Como um roteiro teatral que trata de assuntos da Astronomia pode ser trabalhado na escola?” A pesquisa se caracteriza como pesquisa-ação e foi desenvolvida em etapas diversas, desde a preparação do material até a sua aplicação na escola. Conseguimos de forma efetiva montar o roteiro teatral com o tema de Astronomia e assim apresentar um novo recurso para o professor abordar assuntos de Astronomia na educação básica, além de avaliar a participação dos estudantes que estavam envolvidos no processo, conforme eles veem, compreendem, entendem e identificam os assuntos abordados na peça. De um modo geral, os resultados apontam que, mesmo com a exibição do teatro, os estudantes espectadores não conseguem fazer uma relação dos conteúdos ao ensino da Astronomia. Há uma ausência de conhecimentos sobre o tema e, quando apresentados, esses conhecimentos são bem pontuais e superficiais. Por outro lado, os alunos mostraram-se bem receptivos à proposta e apontam a abordagem com uso do teatro como positiva.Astronomy in the classroom: from theoretical study to a proposal using puppet theaterThere are several discussions regarding the insertion of Astronomy content as part of High School Education. However, there is a gap regarding teachers’ training about the subject and pedagogical resource, which results in its ineffectiveness teaching. In this sense, in order to contribute to overcoming this gap in the practical field, as well as expand the possibilities of methodological approach in the teaching of Astronomy, this work brings the result of a research carried out using puppet theater as approach. The dramaturgical script was a rereading of the play about the life of Galileo Galilei written by Bertolt Brecht and the question to be answered in this paper was: “How can a theatrical script dealing with astronomy issues be worked on at High School?” The action research was developed in different steps, including the preparation of the material and its application at school. We developed a new script focusing on Astronomy and created a new approach to teaching this subject. To evaluate the proposal, we questioned students – spectator and actors – about how they identified and understood the astronomic issues in the puppet theater. In general, the results show that, even with the exhibition of the puppet theater, the spectator students cannot relate the contents to the teaching of Astronomy. There is an absence of knowledge on the subject and, when such knowledge is presented, it is in a very punctual and superficial way. On the other hand, the students were very receptive to the proposal and point to the approach using puppet theater as positive.Keywords: Teaching; Astronomy; Theater

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved