Article
Investigating accessibility in Latin American science museums and centers
Registration in:
ROCHA, Jessica Norberto et al. Investigating accessibility in Latin American science museums and centers. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, Rio de Janeiro, v. 92, n. 1, p. 1-16, 2020.
0001-3765
10.1590/0001-3765202020191156
1678-2690
Author
Rocha, Jessica Norberto
Massarani, Luisa Medeiros
Abreu, Willian Vieira de
Inacio, Luiz Gustavo Barcellos
Molenzani, Aline Oliveira
Abstract
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ); Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). Science museums are powerful places not only for science communication, informal science teaching, and leisure but also for promoting science and technology in an equitable, diverse, and inclusive mode. The paper presents an overview of accessibility in Latin American science museums and centers, based on a questionnaire comprised of open and closed questions in Portuguese and Spanish. The answers received from directors and other personnel responsible for 109 institutions in twelve countries were analyzed using an accessibility indicator tool. The fi ndings suggest that these institutions generally offer some physical accessibility resources and fewer communicational and attitudinal accessibility resources. Data also show that there is an absence of institutional practices that might underpin any endeavor to take into consideration the inclusion of people with disabilities. More funding must be made available for practices and research in this area. We also recommend that persons with disabilities play a greater role as protagonists and professionals and likewise as a research public in the realm of science communication and at the region’s science museums and centers.