SCIENTIFIC DISSEMINATION IN NON-FORMAL SPACES: A CASE STUDY INVOLVING GENERAL RELATIVITY AND THE ECLIPSE MUSEUM/DIVULGACAO CIENTiFICA EM ESPACOS NAO FORMAIS: UM ESTUDO DE CASO ENVOLVENDO A RELATIVIDADE GERAL E O MUSEU DO ECLIPSE DE SOBRAL

This qualitative work aims to investigate the potential of non-formal spaces in complementing school education. The research is focused on a case study regarding a scientific event involving the general relativity theory which took place at the Eclipse Museum, in the city of Sobral, Ceara. The study was carried out through field research supported by interviews and questionnaires, in which were involved local citizens, the director and the former director of the Eclipse Museum, as well as former employees of the institution. The results point to the importance of commitment to the city, its education, and its memory; to the necessity of permanent investments of continuous flow in the multiple educational spaces, increasing the efficiency of school education. On the other hand, it is worth highlighting that the local school curricula have not properly honored regional scientific and cultural knowledge, leading to a deficient basic education. Due to this deficit, it has been noticed that citizens have not been acquiring the necessary knowledge to understand relevant facts concerning the scientific explanation of the phenomenon observed in the skies of Sobral for just over a century, which notably contributed to the confirmation of the general theory of relativity. KEYWORDS: Sobral, Interviews, Disclosure environment. Este trabalho investiga qualitativamente o potencial dos espacos nao formais na complementacao de uma educacao escolar forjada nas instituicoes formais e nas contribuicoes prestadas para a divulgacao cientifica, tomando como referencia um estudo de caso envolvendo, a teoria da relatividade geral e o Museu do Eclipse de Sobral. O estudo foi concretizado numa pesquisa de campo subsidiada por entrevistas e questionarios, nos quais foram envolvidas pessoas que compoem a populacao sobralense, diretores do Museu do Eclipse e ex-funcionarios da instituicao. Os resultados apontam para a import ncia do comprometimento com a cidade, educacao e memoria; para a necessidade de investimentos permanentes de fluxo continuo nos varios espacos educacionais, aumentando a eficiencia da formacao escolar. Por outro lado, observa-se que os curriculos escolares locais ainda nao tem prestigiado devidamente os conhecimentos cientifico-culturais regionais, levando a uma formacao basica deficitaria por parte dos cidadaos. Em funcao desse deficit, percebeu-se que os cidadaos nao tem adquirido os conhecimentos necessarios para a compreensao cientifica do fenomeno observado n